SSC Typing Practice Passage: The making of the Indian Constitution

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the land and one of the longest written constitutions in the world. It was not drafted overnight. It was the result of nearly three years of careful debate by the Constituent Assembly, whose members came from different regions, religions, languages and political backgrounds. Their task was to create a framework of government for a vast and diverse country that had just won its freedom.

The Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946. Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected its permanent President, and the Assembly appointed a number of committees to study particular subjects, such as fundamental rights, minorities and the powers of the Union and the states. On 29 August 1947, it set up the Drafting Committee with Dr B. R. Ambedkar as its Chairman. The committee prepared a draft that was published for public comment and then discussed clause by clause.

The debates in the Assembly were long and often intense. Members argued about the official language, the relationship between the Centre and the states, the rights of minorities and the role of the President. Many amendments were moved, and the final text reflected a series of compromises. The records of these debates remain an important guide to understanding the meaning of the Constitution.

The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949, a day now observed as Constitution Day. It came into force on 26 January 1950, which is celebrated every year as Republic Day. The date was chosen because on 26 January 1930, the Indian National Congress had called for Purna Swaraj, or complete independence.

The Constitution established India as a sovereign democratic republic, with a parliamentary system of government, an independent judiciary and a set of fundamental rights for every citizen. It also contained Directive Principles of State Policy, which guide the government in making laws for social and economic justice. The words socialist and secular were added to the Preamble later, through the Forty-second Amendment in 1976.

The makers of the Constitution knew that a country's needs would change over time, so they provided a procedure for amending it. Yet its basic values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity have remained constant. These values continue to guide the life of the nation more than seven decades later.