On the recommendations of the Cabinet Mission which visited India in 1946, a sovereign body, the Constituent Assembly of India was formed to draft a constitution for the country.
On 29th August 1947, under the chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.
The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and it came into force on 26 January 1950.
This article will give detailed information on the Criticism of the Constituent Assembly to help in IAS Exam preparation.
| Aspirants can check their preparation by attempting the UPSC Previous Years Question Papers now!!
To complement your preparation for the upcoming exam, check the following links: |
Limitations of the Constituent Assembly of India
The critics have criticized the Constituent Assembly on various grounds. These are as follows:
- Not a Representative Body: The critics have argued that the Constituent Assembly was not a representative body as its members were not directly elected by the people of India based on the universal adult franchise.
- Not a Sovereign Body: The critics maintained that the Constituent Assembly was not a sovereign body as it was created by the proposals of the British Government. Further, they said that the Assembly held its sessions with the permission of the British Government.
- Time-Consuming: According to the critics, the Constituent Assembly took an unduly long time to make the Constitution. They stated that the framers of the American Constitution took only four months to complete their work.
- Dominated by Congress: The critics charged that the Constituent Assembly was dominated by the Congress party. Granville Austin, a British Constitutional expert, remarked: ‘The Constituent Assembly was a one-party body in an essentially one-party country.
- Lawyer-Politician Domination: It is also maintained by the critics that the Constituent Assembly was dominated by lawyers and politicians. They pointed out that other sections of the society were not sufficiently represented. This, to them, is the main reason for the bulkiness and complicated language of the Constitution.
- Dominated by Hindus: According to some critics, the Constituent Assembly was a Hindu-dominated body. Lord Viscount Simon called it ‘a body of Hindus’. Similarly, Winston Churchill commented that the Constituent Assembly represented ‘only one major community in India.
Aspirants must go through the relevant related links provided below to assist their preparation for upcoming UPSC Prelims and Mains examination-
Comments