Brij Kishore Sharma
It has become almost a ritual to state that our Constitution was handed down by a single individual. It seems that those who ascribe it to an individual are ignorant of the recent past and also the role played by Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
Dr. Ambedkar was a lawyer, a learned scholar, a leader and above all a person who respected truth. So in his life time he clarified in Parliament itself that he did not make the Constitution. Yet a certain sections of the people still claim that the Constitution is the creation of one man i.e. Dr. Ambedkar.
When the British transferred power to India there existed 564 States, which were not part of British India, which formed almost half the territory of India. Let us ask the question as to who was the person who integrated this territory with the territory of India as described in the Constitution? This was done without a drop of blood—a bloodless revolution.
The Cabinet Mission proposal of May 16, 1946 envisaged 3 types of Constitutions 1 Federal, 3 for groups and 12 for Provinces—a total of 16 Constitutions. Apart from this, a treaty with Britain and separate treaties with 564 states. Each state would be free to declare Independence. This was a sure recipe for fragmentation of India. Dr. Rajendra Prasad on the first day was chosen President of Constituent Assembly declared that the Assembly is a sovereign assembly and not bound by any fetters imposed by any authority.
But the real ground work was done by Sardar Patel. It was owing to his sincere efforts that 216 States merged in adjoining provinces, 61 were converted to centrally administered territories and 275 states formed Unions. Three retained their identity—Hyderabad, Mysore and Jammu & Kashmir. All of them signed Instruments of Accession or merger agreements.
The princely states formed 28 per cent of the population and covered 48 per cent of the territory of India. Sardar Patel drew India’s boundary and prevented balkanisation. He deserves the gratitude of every Indian for making India what it is today. It may be recalled that but for Sardar Patel Hyderabad would have been a painful festering sore in the heart of India. Hyderabad had refused to sign the Instrument of Accession and declared it an independent country. It started collecting arms and negotiating with Portuguese to buy Goa. It appointed trade representatives in a few European countries. Raised an Islamic voluntary force called Razakars under Qasim Rizvi and started negotiations to purchase bombers.
It was Sardar Patel’s resolute and timely action that made the Nizam surrender.
Hyderabad had a population of 1.6 crore and covered 83,000 sq. miles of territory. The first batch of members from the princely State joined on April 28, 1947 and the last on January 24, 1949. Thus Sardar was working both inside and outside the assembly to make India a single constitutional entity.
Role of Sir B.N. Rau
Lord Wavell, the Viceroy, had declared his intention to call a Constituent Assembly on September 19, 1946. On October 22, 1945 he wrote to Lord Pethick Lawrence that he intended to appoint Sir Benegal Narsingh Rau in the Reforms Department. At Wavell’s instance Rau had a long meeting with Nehru on November 21, 1945. It may be mentioned that Rau was a contemporary of Nehru at Cambridge and Nehru was an admirer of Rau’s scholarship and achievements.
Rau was appointed as Constitutional Advisor on July 1, 1946. On July 11, 1946 Nehru as Congress president appointed a committee of 7 persons to collect material for the consideration of the Constituent Assembly in 1946. Later, all the preparatory work was done by B.N. Rau. He collected precedents from Britain, Canada, USA, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, etc. Three volumes of the precedents were given to the members of the Assembly. He wrote a note for Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Nehru on March 9, 1947. Later, on March 17, 1947 he sent a questionnaire to members of provincial legislative assemblies. The same questionnaire was circulated to the members of the Constituent Assembly on May 5, 1947.
Rau prepared a draft Constitution in October 1947. This draft was considered by the drafting committee. The revised draft was circulated on February 21, 1948 and was the basis for discussion. Dr. Rau attended the meetings of all the Committees and prepared notes for the members. His comments occupy about 400 pages in B. Shiv Rao’s book.
On the concluding day of Constituent Assembly Dr. Rajendra Prasad paid glowing tribute to Rau. Later, in a foreword to a book he wrote that B.N. Rau was a guide, philosopher and friend in a task of such supreme national importance as the framing of the Constitution. He observed:
If Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the skilful pilot of the Constitution through all its different stages, Shri B.N. Rau was the person who visualised the plan and laid its foundation. The opinions that he gave on any controversial point were full and judicious and based on a deep study of the subject. His services were highly appreciated even outside India and the credit for preparing the framework of the Constitution of Burma goes to him in a large measure.
Pt. Nehru on November 30, 1953, made a obituary reference to Rau in Lok Sabha in which he stated: “He was intimately connected with the Constitution-making and he might well be called one of the principal architects of our Constitution.”
The Speaker Shri G.V. Mavalankar observed:
“Mr. B.N. Rau is interwoven in present parliamentary life. He worked for it during the last few years of his life and we all know what a valuable document in the form of Constitution we have got.”
The Calcutta Weekly Notes wrote on December 7, 1953: “We mourn the passing away of an eminent son of India who brought honour to the country.
His death removes a brilliant administrator, a distinguished constitutional jurist and one of the architects of the Indian Constitution.”
Dr. Ambedkar’s role
On May 6, 1945 Dr. Ambedkar publicly stated that there was no need for a Constituent Assembly because the Act of 1935 was good enough. On the next day he denounced the proposal of a Constituent Assembly. He submitted a memorandum to the Constituent Assembly in which he made certain novel propositions. He was opposed to one man one vote.
When elections to the Constituent Assembly took place, Dr. Ambedkar was elected from Bengal with the support of Muslim League. His party had failed to win any seat in the Bombay Legislative Assembly. After Partition, he lost his seat. Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Sardar Patel asked B.G. Kher, Chief Minister of Bombay, to get him elected in the vacancy caused by the resignation of M.R. Jayakar and he was so elected.
It was a surprise to Dr. Ambedkar that he was nominated to the Drafting Committee and later made its Chairman. The Committee consisted mainly of lawyers. The Committee was appointed on August 29, 1947 while the Assembly was working since December 9, 1946. The Drafting Committee was directed to scrutinise the draft prepared by Sir B.N. Rau.
All the members of the Committee worked with devotion. The minutes of the Drafting Committee cover about 200 pages in B. Shiv Rao’s book. To oversee the work of the Drafting Committee the President had appointed a special committee. Dr. Ambedkar and members of the Drafting Committee never claimed that they were authors of the Constitution. Speaking in the Assembly on January 6, 1949 he stated that the Drafting Committee had no choice because it was bound by principles. Later he again said in his speech on November 4, 1948, I hope the Drafting Committee will be found to have faithfully carried out the directions given to it.
Saadullah {member of the committee and former Chief Minister of Assam) said “we were merely to dress up the objective resolution. How can 7 members thrust their opinion on 308.”
In the later years also, Dr. Ambedkar vehemently refuted the suggestion that he was the sole architect of the Constitution. On September 22, 1953 he said in Rajya Sabha that people keep on saying that I made the Constitution.
“My answer is that I was a hack. What I was asked to do I did against my will” (when provoked he said that he would burn the Constitution) on March 19, 1955 speaking in Rajya Sabha about Article 31 he stated “I and the Drafting Committee take no responsibility for that it is not our draft.”
In the concluding session of the Constituent Assembly Pattabhi Sitaramayya mentioned all the members and the Chairman and thanked them for their contribution, Ananthashayanam Ayyangar remarked “Even Dr. Ambedkar who merely came to watch has taken a leading part in framing the Constitution and he is one of the architects of the Constitution.”
Dr. Rajendra Prasad in his farewell speech said, “It would be invidious to make any distinction as among the other members of the Committee They have all worked with the same zeal and devotion as its chairman and they deserve the thanks of the country’’.
Later, in a foreword Dr. Rajendra Prasad wrote that Dr. Ambedkar was the skillful pilot who guided it in the Constituent Assembly.
The Constituent Assembly had appointed 10 committees on procedural affairs and 11 on substantive affairs. It had numerous subcommittees and ad hoc committees and even a committee of the whole house. Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution was substantial and praiseworthy. It was applauded by the President and members of the Constituent Assembly. But it would be unjust to the memory of the great man, Dr. Ambedkar, to say that he was the sole architect or that he alone made the Constitution. It would be more correct to say that the Constitution was framed by a collective effort. It was a mighty task requiring many hands. It was a joint effort by many persons and itreflects many viewpoints.
(The writer is the Retd. Additional Secretary, Ministry of Law & Justice)
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