In this article, we will discuss Committees of the Constituent Assembly (Indian Constitution). So, let’s get started.
Committees of the Constituent Assembly (Indian Constitution)
The Constituent Assembly appointed a number of committees to deal with different tasks of constitution-making. Out of these, eight were major committees and the others were minor committees. The names of these committees and their Chairman are given below:
Major Committees
Union Powers Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
Provincial Constitution Committee -Sardar Patel
Drafting Committee – Dr. BR Ambedkar
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Sardar Patel. This committee had the following five sub-committees:
(a) Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee J.B. Kripalani
(b) Minorities Sub-Committee – H.C. Mukherjee
(c) North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee – Gopinath Bardoloi
(d) Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee – A.V. Thakkar
(e) North-West Frontier Tribal Areas Sub-Committee
Rules of Procedure Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States) – Jawaharlal Nehru
Steering Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Minor Committees
Finance and Staff Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Credentials Committee-Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
House Committee – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Order of Business Committee – Dr. K.Munshi
Ad-hoc Committee on the National Flag – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly – G.V. Mavalanlar
Ad hoc Committee on the Supreme Court – S. Varadachari (Not an Assembly Member)
Committee on Chief.Commissioners’ Provinces – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Expert Committee on the Financial Provisions of the Union Constitution – Nalini Ranjan Sarkar (Not an Assembly Member)
Linguistic Provinces Commission – S.K. Dar (Not an Assembly Member)
Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution – Jawaharlal Nehru
Press Gallery Committee – Usha Nath sen
Ad-hoc Committee on Citizenship – S. Varadachari (Not an Assembly Member)
Drafting Committee
Among all the committees of the Constituent Assembly, the most important committee was the Drafting Committee set up on August 29, 1947. It was this committee that was entrusted with the task of preparing a draft of the new Constitution. It consisted of seven members. They were:
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (Chairman)
N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
Dr. K.M. Munshi
Syed Mohammad Saadullah
N. Madhava Rau (He replaced BL Mitter who resigned due to ill-health)
T.T. Krishnamachari (He replaced D.P. Khaitan who died in 1948)
The Drafting Committee, after taking into consideration the proposals of the various committees, prepared the first draft of the Constitution of India, which was published in February, 1948. The people of India were giveneight months to discuss the draft and propose amendments. In the light of the public comments, criticisms and suggestions, the Drafting Committee prepared a second draft, which was published in October, 1948. The Drafting Committee took less than six months to prepare its draft. In all it sat only for 141 days.
