During a school visit to a museum in New Delhi, Class 12 student Aarti stood before a large display of the signed Constitution of India. The guide explained that the document took about three years to prepare and that its drafts were discussed clause by clause by a body of Indian representatives. Aarti asked when the document began to govern the country, what its makers wanted it to change in Indian society, how the drafting work was organised, and what the mood in the country was in the years just before the drafting began. The guide asked her to answer each point from what she had studied in class.
Between the sessions of the body that discussed the drafts, how was the work of revising and refining the drafts carried out?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → By various committees and sub-committees of the Assembly
Option (1) By various committees and sub-committees of the Assembly — Correct. Between the sessions of the Constituent Assembly, the work of revising and refining the drafts was carried out by various committees and sub-committees. The full Assembly then debated the revised drafts.
Option (2) By the Provincial Legislatures that had chosen the members — Incorrect. The Provincial Legislatures only chose the representatives to the Constituent Assembly. They had no part in revising the drafts.
Option (3) By the Interim Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru — Incorrect. The Interim Government ran the administration while the British were still in India. Drafting the Constitution was the work of the Assembly, not of the government.
Option (4) By officials of the British Government in London — Incorrect. The Assembly drafted the Constitution itself. Its members were Indian representatives, so the drafts were not revised in London.
NCERT (2026-27): “Framing the Constitution The Beginning of a New Er TWELVE … “held eleven sessions, with sittings spread over 165 days. In between the sessions, the work of revising and refining the drafts was carried out by various committees and sub-committees. From your political science textbooks you know what the Constitution of India is, and you have seen how it has worked over the decades since Independence. This chapter will introduce you to the history that lies behind the Constitution, and the intense debates that were part of its making. …” |