Q. With reference to the composition of India’s Constituent Assembly, consider the following statements:
1. It was constituted on the basis of recommendations of the Cabinet Mission.
2. Members from the Princely States were drawn through nomination.
3. Seats were reserved for various minorities but there was no separate electorate.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is correct: The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan. The Cabinet Mission rejected the Muslim League’s call for two separate constituent assemblies and announced a joint one with a strength of 389.
Statement 2 is correct: The Constituent Assembly was to be a partly elected (indirectly) and partly nominated body. The members from the British Indian provinces were drawn through elections, while the members from the Princely States were drawn through nomination.
Statement 3 is incorrect: For protecting minority interests, the British provided for a system of Separate Electorates during the indirect elections for membership of Constituent Assembly. Separate reservations were made for members of the Sikh and Muslim communities and members representing these communities in the Constituent Assembly were to be elected by only members of those same communities in the Provincial Legislatures.
Important Tips
Women representatives in Constituent Assembly:
- There were 15 women representatives in the Constituent Assembly, who contributed in the making of our constitution.
- The women representatives included Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and others.
