How the Constitution was made: dates, people, ideas
The Constitution of India was made by the Constituent Assembly between December 1946 and November 1949. In this lesson you will put its key dates in order, meet the people who led the work, and see which ideas the makers adapted from other constitutions.
Guess first
Before any dates, try this one. A guess is enough.
Guess first: the Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949. What happened on 26 January 1950?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. It had been adopted on 26 November 1949, so the two dates mean two different things: adopted (finished and accepted) and in force (working as the law of the land).
Option B: The first sitting came at the very start of the work, on 9 December 1946.
Option C: The members signed it a little earlier, on 24 January 1950: 284 members put their signature on it.
Option D: A constitution is adopted once. The adoption date, 26 November 1949, is written in the Preamble itself.
Hint: One date finishes the work; the other date starts it working.
If you chose A, you already hold the key idea of this lesson: adopted and came into force are two different dates.
An everyday picture
Think of a family building a new house.
Building a house, step by step:
Family council Constituent Assembly
many members debate every room; the Assembly debated every clause
Architect's desk Drafting Committee
writes the plan; its Chairman was Dr B. R. Ambedkar
Plan signed off Adopted, 26 November 1949
the design is final: the Constitution was adopted
Moving in In force, 26 January 1950
the house is lived in: the Constitution came into force
The analogy has a limit: a real house plan is never debated for years in public. The Assembly met for 166 days, spread over two years and eleven months.
See it: the timeline
Read the timeline from top to bottom. Each box is one date you can be asked.
flowchart TD A["9 December 1946: first sitting"] --> B["14 August 1947: reassembled for divided India"] B --> C["26 November 1949: Constitution adopted"] C --> D["24 January 1950: 284 members sign it"] D --> E["26 January 1950: Constitution comes into force"]
The same timeline in words: the Assembly held its first sitting on 9 December 1946. It reassembled as the Constituent Assembly for divided India on 14 August 1947. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949. On 24 January 1950, 284 members put their signature on it. It came into force on 26 January 1950.
How to read a date question:
- Find the event word in the question: first sitting, adopted, signed, or came into force.
- Match the event to its box on the timeline.
- Check the year: 1946 is the first sitting, 1949 is the adoption, 1950 is the signature and the coming into force.
Try it on paper. Write the five events on one side of a page and the five dates on the other. Cover the dates and say each date aloud from its event. Then swap.
Find the rule
Three quick checks. Each one fixes one date or one name.
On which date did the Constituent Assembly hold its first sitting?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT says the Constituent Assembly held its first sitting on 9 December 1946 and reassembled for divided India on 14 August 1947.
Option B: 14 August 1947 is when the Assembly reassembled for divided India, not its first sitting.
Option C: 26 November 1949 is when the Constitution was adopted, at the end of the work.
Option D: 24 January 1950 is when the members signed the final Constitution.
Hint: The first sitting opens the story, so look for the earliest date.
Who was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
NCERT names Dr Rajendra Prasad as the President of the Constituent Assembly and Dr B. R. Ambedkar as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee. Two different posts: Prasad was President of the whole Assembly; Ambedkar was Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
Option A: Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly, not the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
Option C: Nehru moved the Objective Resolution in 1946; he did not chair the Drafting Committee.
Option D: Sardar Patel chaired some of the Assembly's major Committees, but not the Drafting Committee.
Hint: The Drafting Committee wrote the draft. Who is called its Chairman?
After Partition, the number of members in the Constituent Assembly was reduced to how many?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT says that after Partition the number of members in the Assembly was reduced to 299.
Option B: 292 members were to be elected by the Provinces under the Cabinet Mission plan, before Partition.
Option C: 284 members put their signature on the Constitution on 24 January 1950.
Option D: 93 was the minimum number of seats for the Princely States under the Cabinet Mission plan.
Hint: Look for the number the Assembly was reduced to, not the number planned or the number who signed.
Name it: two dates, two meanings
The rule: adopted on 26 November 1949, came into force on 26 January 1950.
The Constitution records them itself. The Preamble ends with the words "this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT", and Article 394 says the remaining provisions "shall come into force on the twenty-sixth day of January, 1950", the day it calls "the commencement of this Constitution".
| Event | Date | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|
| First sitting of the Constituent Assembly | 9 December 1946 | NCERT, chapter 1 |
| Constitution adopted | 26 November 1949 | The Preamble |
| 284 members sign it | 24 January 1950 | NCERT, chapter 1 |
| Comes into force (commencement) | 26 January 1950 | Article 394 |
Article 394 also lists a few articles that came into force at once, without waiting for January. Among them are articles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, on citizenship.
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Which date does the Constitution itself call "the commencement of this Constitution"?
Solution
- Find the article that sets the dates
Article 394 is titled "Commencement".
- Read what it says about the rest of the Constitution
The remaining provisions "shall come into force on the twenty-sixth day of January, 1950".
- Read the name it gives that day
It calls 26 January 1950 "the commencement of this Constitution".
Answer: 26 January 1950, the date the Constitution came into force.
Watch out: 26 November 1949 is the adoption date in the Preamble, not the commencement.
Now finish one that is half done.
Half done: Article 394 says that articles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 came into force at once. These articles open with "Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution". Which Part of the Constitution are they in?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Part II is titled "Citizenship" and begins with Article 5, "Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution".
Option A: Part I is The Union and its Territory, not citizenship.
Option C: Part III, on Fundamental Rights, begins later, at Article 12.
Option D: Part IV, on Directive Principles, begins at Article 36.
Hint: The heading of Article 5 already contains the answer.
And one on your own.
Ravi wrote: "The Constitution came into force on 26 November 1949." Which date should he have written?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
26 November 1949 is the date the Constitution was adopted. It came into force on 26 January 1950, the date Article 394 calls the commencement.
Option B: 24 January 1950 is the date the members put their signature on the Constitution.
Option C: 14 August 1947 is when the Assembly reassembled for divided India.
Option D: 9 December 1946 is the Assembly's first sitting.
Hint: Ravi mixed up the two famous dates. On which date did the Constitution come into force?
The traps
- Adopted for in force: adopted on 26 November 1949; came into force on 26 January 1950.
- Signed for adopted: 284 members signed it on 24 January 1950; it had been adopted on 26 November 1949.
- First sitting for reassembly: first sitting on 9 December 1946; reassembled for divided India on 14 August 1947.
- President for Chairman: Dr Rajendra Prasad was President of the Constituent Assembly; Dr B. R. Ambedkar was Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
- Planned seats for real members: under the Cabinet Mission plan the Provinces were to elect 292 members; after Partition the Assembly was reduced to 299 members.
Ideas taken from other constitutions
The makers studied other constitutions and adapted what suited India. NCERT's table:
| Constitution | Ideas adapted |
|---|---|
| British | First Past the Post, Parliamentary Form of Government, the rule of law, the Speaker, law-making procedure |
| Irish | Directive Principles of State Policy |
| French | Liberty, Equality and Fraternity |
| United States | Charter of Fundamental Rights, judicial review, independence of the judiciary |
| Canadian | A quasi-federal form of government, the idea of Residual Powers |
The Directive Principles of State Policy were adapted from the constitution of which country?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT's table puts Directive Principles of State Policy under the Irish Constitution.
Option B: From the United States Constitution came the Charter of Fundamental Rights and judicial review, not the Directive Principles.
Option C: From the French Constitution came Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Option D: From the Canadian Constitution came the quasi-federal form of government and Residual Powers.
Hint: Rights from the United States, principles of policy from Ireland.
Which idea did the makers adapt from the French Constitution?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT's table puts "Principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" under the French Constitution. You will meet these words again in the Preamble.
Option B: The Directive Principles came from the Irish Constitution.
Option C: The Charter of Fundamental Rights came from the United States Constitution.
Option D: First Past the Post came from the British Constitution.
Hint: Look for the ideals you will meet again in the Preamble.
Mixed check
In 1946 a resolution set out the aims of the Constituent Assembly. Who moved this Objective Resolution?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT calls the Objective Resolution "the resolution that defined the aims of the Assembly" and says it was moved by Nehru in 1946.
Option B: Dr B. R. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee; he did not move the Objective Resolution.
Option C: Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly; he did not move the Objective Resolution.
Option D: Sardar Patel chaired some of the Assembly's Committees; he did not move the Objective Resolution.
Hint: The aims came at the start of the Assembly's work, from the leader who moved them.
Quick reference
How the Constitution was made
- First sitting
- 9 December 1946 the Constituent Assembly first met
- Reassembled
- 14 August 1947 the Constituent Assembly for divided India
- Members after Partition
- 299 the Assembly was reduced to 299 members
- Adopted
- 26 November 1949 written in the Preamble: "do HEREBY ADOPT"
- Signed
- 24 January 1950 284 members put their signature on it
- Came into force
- 26 January 1950 Article 394 calls it the commencement
- Who led
- Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr B. R. Ambedkar President of the Constituent Assembly; Chairman of the Drafting Committee
- Aims
- Objective Resolution, 1946 moved by Nehru
Why it works: every date answers one event. Find the event word, then its date.
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