The Ideas and Men Behind the Indian Constitution

This book seeks to commemorate the completion of fifty years of the working of the Indian Constitution (January 26, 1950—January 26, 2000), generally considered as one of the proudest accomplishments of our country since the achievement of independence (1947). This has been done by bringing together in one volume of moderate size the most important speeches delivered in the Constituent Assembly (1946-49). The Introduction by the editor, one of the eminent historians of Modern India, has tried to Indicate the roots of the main ideas which shaped our Constitution by recalling the ideological moorings of the Indian nationalist movement as well as the political turmoil and large-scale communal rioting prevailing in India in the wake of Partition while the Constituent Assembly was engaged in its endeavour to frame a Constitution. The Introduction also attempts to throw light on the question who were the founding fathers or architects of our Constitution. This has been done without any bias or pre-conceived notion, on the basis of the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly and the editor’s understanding of the balance of political forces and the relative standing of the dramatis personae in the Constituent Assembly. It has been pointed out that while the Constitution was the end-product of the collective effort of all members of the Constituent Assembly, a few distinguished individuals did play such a pivotal role in its making as to entitle them to be remembered as its founding fathers or architects. Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Abul Kalam Azad, B.R. Ambedkar and B.N. Rau have been placed in this category.