Forgotten fathers of the Constitution
Updated on Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 00:39 IST
Shashank Chouhan
Say Constitution and the first image that conjures before the mind is
that of Dr BR Ambedkar- the chief of the drafting committee of the
Constitutent Assembly. Jog the mind a bit and you are likely to
remember that others like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr Rajendra
Prasad, Maulana Azad etc were also a part of the history chapters that
tell us about how our Constitution, the lengthiest and probably the
most complicated one in the world, was written. They were truly, the
founding fathers of our Republic.
But there were others too. You don't think that the 395 articles in 22
parts, 14 schedules and 94 amendments and a total of 117,369 words
were written by just a handful of intelligent men and women, do you?
It was worked upon by 205 elected and nominated Indians from across
the country. As India completes 60 years of being governed in letter
and spirit by the Constitution, here is a quick look at the forgotten
luminaries who have got lost in the annals of history despite their
contribution in its formation.
Benegal Narsing Rau: The most eminent jurist of his time, Rau not only
played a key role in drafting the Constitution of India but also that
of Burma. He was appointed an advisor to the Constituent Assembly and
though was not part of the Committee itself, he was next to Amedkar in
his role. Rau, who was knighted in 1938 for revising the entire Indian
statutory code, was responsible for the democratic structure of the
Constitution and prepared the final draft. He went on to represent
India at the UN Security Council and was a judge at the International
Court of Justice in The Hague. He was a combination of hard work,
humility, search for perfection and erudition.
Saiyad Mohammed Saadulla: Representing Assam, Saadulla was a member of
the Muslim League. He was an eminent member of the steering and
drafting committees which worked under Rajendra Prasad and Ambedkar
respectively. He became the premiere of Assam twice and was knighted
by the British in 1928.
Dr Sachchidananda Sinha: An eminent Congress man, Sinha was chosen to
preside over the first session of the Constituent Assembly and his
name was suggested by Acharya Kruplani. In his inaugural address, he
asked the members to deeply study prominent Constitutions of the
world, especially the American one- a source from where eventually the
Indian Constitution borrowed a lot, including the principle of
separation of powers. He inspired those present by invoking Iqbal and
concluding with a quote from the Bible: Where there is no vision, the
people perish.
M A Ayyangar: He represented Madras and was a prominent member of the
steering committee. He was the first Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha
and was handpicked by Nehru to fill in the void left by the demise of
the first Speaker GV Mavalankar. He was a member of the first elected
council in India and was known for his phenomenal memory, Sanskrit
knowledge and a keen interest in culture. He also became the Governor
of Bihar in 1962.
N Gopalswami Ayyangar: An able administrator, Ayyangar was a member of
the rules, business, drafting and several other committees. He was a
lawyer-politician who represented Madras in the Constituent Assembly.
Ayyangar played a key role in the exposition of Article 370 and was
responsible for closing the differences between Sardar Patel and
Sheikh Abdullah.
Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar: A highly learned advocate who was thrice
the Advocate Gneral of Madras, Sir Alladi was personally asked by
Nehru to come on board the drafting committee. His contribution was
vast- ranging from how far the fundamental rights be untouched to the
defining of the privileges of the Parliament. Such was the respect and
awe for his that some of his words were included verbatim in the
Constitution.
G Durgabai: A criminal lawyer by profession and a feminist by virtue
(she founded what is today the Andhra Mahila Sabha), she was a member
of the steering and rules committees. An early participant in the
Freedom struggle, Durgabai made contribution in drafting and enacting
the Hindu Code Bill. She worked to include provisions for protection
of women and children against exploitation in the Constitution.
T T Krishnamachari: A Representative from Madras, he was also a member
of the drafting committee. TTK as he is more popularly known in
Chennai debated rigorously on uncontrolled freedom to individual. He
was actually an eminent member of the state Assembly and was sent to
the Constituent Assembly to attend the its debates. Later, he became a
part of it. TTK went on to become Union Finance Minister twice and
opposed the idea of a single official language- Hindi- for the whole
of India.
H C Mookerjee: A representative of Bengal apart from being the former
Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and a prominent Christian,
Mookerjee was vice-president of the Constituent Assembly and Chairman
of the minority rights sub-committee and provincial constitution
committee. He began with suggesting reservation for the upliftment of
minorities in all fields including political but, after Partition,
changed his suggestion and limited it to provision for preservation of
the language and culture of minorities. This has been interpreted to
open educational institutes and other institutions by minority
communities.
K M Munshi: Representing Bombay, Munshi was one of the most prominent
members of the Assembly who was a member of 11 committees- largest
number for any 1 member- including the rules, steering and advisory
committees. The principle of granting every person equal protection of
laws was a result of Munshi and Ambedkar's joint effort. He was also a
votary of a strong Centre, leading to a structure which is Federal and
at the same time Parliamentary in nature. He is the founder of the
Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan which is one of the leading educational
institutes in India today. He also founded the Swatantra Party.
N Madhava Rau: A representative of Orissa, he served as a
constitutional adviser to the eastern states eventually becoming a
member of the drafting committee.
B Pattabhi Sitaramayya: He fought Subhash Chandra Bose for Congress
presidency and lost even when Gandhi withdrew his nomination.
Sitaramayya was the chairman of the House Committee and was a member
of the rules, states, union subjects and provincial constitution
committees. He was a votary of the Directive Principle that asked
states to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of
citizens. It was on his recommendation that Constituent Assembly
agreed to incorporate Articles 239 and 240 in the Constitution to
allow Part-C states functioning through a Chief Commissioner or
Lieutenant Governor (like Delhi).
These and many other members are not known till date but their
contributions made the Constitution of India a sturdy document that
runs the largest democracy in India. But, as Kuladhar Chaliha, an
assembly member from Assam said, it was an advantage since they 'could
look into [the drafting of the constitution] dispassionately and
produce the one that was necessary.'
On the occasion of India's 60th Republic Day, society must make an
effort to remember these forgotten fathers of the Constitution.
Shashank Chouhan
Say Constitution and the first image that conjures before the mind is
that of Dr BR Ambedkar- the chief of the drafting committee of the
Constitutent Assembly. Jog the mind a bit and you are likely to
remember that others like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr Rajendra
Prasad, Maulana Azad etc were also a part of the history chapters that
tell us about how our Constitution, the lengthiest and probably the
most complicated one in the world, was written. They were truly, the
founding fathers of our Republic.
But there were others too. You don't think that the 395 articles in 22
parts, 14 schedules and 94 amendments and a total of 117,369 words
were written by just a handful of intelligent men and women, do you?
It was worked upon by 205 elected and nominated Indians from across
the country. As India completes 60 years of being governed in letter
and spirit by the Constitution, here is a quick look at the forgotten
luminaries who have got lost in the annals of history despite their
contribution in its formation.
Benegal Narsing Rau: The most eminent jurist of his time, Rau not only
played a key role in drafting the Constitution of India but also that
of Burma. He was appointed an advisor to the Constituent Assembly and
though was not part of the Committee itself, he was next to Amedkar in
his role. Rau, who was knighted in 1938 for revising the entire Indian
statutory code, was responsible for the democratic structure of the
Constitution and prepared the final draft. He went on to represent
India at the UN Security Council and was a judge at the International
Court of Justice in The Hague. He was a combination of hard work,
humility, search for perfection and erudition.
Saiyad Mohammed Saadulla: Representing Assam, Saadulla was a member of
the Muslim League. He was an eminent member of the steering and
drafting committees which worked under Rajendra Prasad and Ambedkar
respectively. He became the premiere of Assam twice and was knighted
by the British in 1928.
Dr Sachchidananda Sinha: An eminent Congress man, Sinha was chosen to
preside over the first session of the Constituent Assembly and his
name was suggested by Acharya Kruplani. In his inaugural address, he
asked the members to deeply study prominent Constitutions of the
world, especially the American one- a source from where eventually the
Indian Constitution borrowed a lot, including the principle of
separation of powers. He inspired those present by invoking Iqbal and
concluding with a quote from the Bible: Where there is no vision, the
people perish.
M A Ayyangar: He represented Madras and was a prominent member of the
steering committee. He was the first Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha
and was handpicked by Nehru to fill in the void left by the demise of
the first Speaker GV Mavalankar. He was a member of the first elected
council in India and was known for his phenomenal memory, Sanskrit
knowledge and a keen interest in culture. He also became the Governor
of Bihar in 1962.
N Gopalswami Ayyangar: An able administrator, Ayyangar was a member of
the rules, business, drafting and several other committees. He was a
lawyer-politician who represented Madras in the Constituent Assembly.
Ayyangar played a key role in the exposition of Article 370 and was
responsible for closing the differences between Sardar Patel and
Sheikh Abdullah.
Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar: A highly learned advocate who was thrice
the Advocate Gneral of Madras, Sir Alladi was personally asked by
Nehru to come on board the drafting committee. His contribution was
vast- ranging from how far the fundamental rights be untouched to the
defining of the privileges of the Parliament. Such was the respect and
awe for his that some of his words were included verbatim in the
Constitution.
G Durgabai: A criminal lawyer by profession and a feminist by virtue
(she founded what is today the Andhra Mahila Sabha), she was a member
of the steering and rules committees. An early participant in the
Freedom struggle, Durgabai made contribution in drafting and enacting
the Hindu Code Bill. She worked to include provisions for protection
of women and children against exploitation in the Constitution.
T T Krishnamachari: A Representative from Madras, he was also a member
of the drafting committee. TTK as he is more popularly known in
Chennai debated rigorously on uncontrolled freedom to individual. He
was actually an eminent member of the state Assembly and was sent to
the Constituent Assembly to attend the its debates. Later, he became a
part of it. TTK went on to become Union Finance Minister twice and
opposed the idea of a single official language- Hindi- for the whole
of India.
H C Mookerjee: A representative of Bengal apart from being the former
Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and a prominent Christian,
Mookerjee was vice-president of the Constituent Assembly and Chairman
of the minority rights sub-committee and provincial constitution
committee. He began with suggesting reservation for the upliftment of
minorities in all fields including political but, after Partition,
changed his suggestion and limited it to provision for preservation of
the language and culture of minorities. This has been interpreted to
open educational institutes and other institutions by minority
communities.
K M Munshi: Representing Bombay, Munshi was one of the most prominent
members of the Assembly who was a member of 11 committees- largest
number for any 1 member- including the rules, steering and advisory
committees. The principle of granting every person equal protection of
laws was a result of Munshi and Ambedkar's joint effort. He was also a
votary of a strong Centre, leading to a structure which is Federal and
at the same time Parliamentary in nature. He is the founder of the
Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan which is one of the leading educational
institutes in India today. He also founded the Swatantra Party.
N Madhava Rau: A representative of Orissa, he served as a
constitutional adviser to the eastern states eventually becoming a
member of the drafting committee.
B Pattabhi Sitaramayya: He fought Subhash Chandra Bose for Congress
presidency and lost even when Gandhi withdrew his nomination.
Sitaramayya was the chairman of the House Committee and was a member
of the rules, states, union subjects and provincial constitution
committees. He was a votary of the Directive Principle that asked
states to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of
citizens. It was on his recommendation that Constituent Assembly
agreed to incorporate Articles 239 and 240 in the Constitution to
allow Part-C states functioning through a Chief Commissioner or
Lieutenant Governor (like Delhi).
These and many other members are not known till date but their
contributions made the Constitution of India a sturdy document that
runs the largest democracy in India. But, as Kuladhar Chaliha, an
assembly member from Assam said, it was an advantage since they 'could
look into [the drafting of the constitution] dispassionately and
produce the one that was necessary.'
On the occasion of India's 60th Republic Day, society must make an
effort to remember these forgotten fathers of the Constitution.
------------------------------------
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