Amid the ongoing and decade-long trend of condemning Jawaharlal Nehru for what he did and did not do as prime minister of India, it is worthwhile to recount his legacy in laying firm foundations for India’s democratic republic.
Even though Ambedkar was the pivot who ably steered the Constituent Assembly (CA) in framing the constitution in an unprecedented two years, 11 months and 18 days, Nehru, despite his prime ministerial responsibilities during a turbulent period, took his role as member of the CA seriously.
Contributions he made in various capacities, starting from when he presided over the ‘Poorna Swaraj’ resolution passed during the Congress’s 1929 Lahore session, helped lay the foundations of the constitution.
He was the first in the party to go beyond the proposal of ‘dominion status’ in the Motilal Nehru Committee report and demand ‘Poorna Swaraj’. He conveyed his discomfort to Gandhi even while providing secretarial assistance to his father for the 1928 report: “The fault must be mine but anyway it results in my feeling always that I do not fit in with anything. I am always the square peg and the holes are all round. I feel very lonely.”
So, when the Congress gathered in Calcutta in December 1928, where Motilal expected his report would be accepted, Nehru was uncomfortable: “Prepared as this House should be for any compromise on any lines, it should not be prepared to give up its definite real goal of independence for any length of time.”
Due to Gandhi’s unwavering confidence in him, a ‘reluctant’ Nehru was elected by the party to helm the organisation during its 44th session at Lahore on December 19, 1929. In his historic presidential speech at the 44th session, Nehru declared the party’s commitment: “If the Calcutta resolution holds, we have but one goal today, that of independence … independence for us means complete freedom from British domination and British imperialism.” At midnight on December 31, Nehru hoisted the Indian tricolour at the banks of the river Ravi in Lahore.
We shall focus on Nehru’s contributions in specific roles assigned to him in the CA, leaving aside his numerous other valuable interventions during the framing of the constitution.
Formed on December 6, 1946, the CA held its first meeting on December 9. Rajendra Prasad was unanimously elected its chairperson on December 11; Nehru was entrusted with the responsibility of drafting and moving the Objectives Resolution, which he did on December 13:
“1. This Constituent Assembly declares its firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution;
2. WHEREIN the territories that now comprise British India, the territories that now form the Indian States, and such other parts of India as are outside British India and the States as well as such other territories as are willing to be constituted into the Independent Sovereign India, shall be a Union of them all; and
3. WHEREIN the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the Law of the Constitution, shall possess and retain the status of autonomous Units, together with residuary powers, and exercise all powers and functions of government and administration, save and except such powers and functions as are vested in or assigned to the Union, or as are inherent or implied in the Union or resulting therefrom; and
4. WHEREIN all power and authority of the Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of government, are derived from the people; and
5. WHEREIN shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality; and
6. WHEREIN adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes; and
7. WHEREBY shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea, and air according to Justice and the law of civilised nations; and
8. this ancient land attains its rightful and honoured place in the world and make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.”
On July 4, 1947, the Union Constitution Committee (UCC) met in Nehru’s chairmanship to submit its report to the president of the CA. It contained a draft preamble, reading, “We, the people of India seeking to promote the common good, do hereby, through our close representatives enact, adopt and give to ourselves the Constitution”.
During the discussion in the CA on October 17, 1949 on the draft preamble that was eventually passed, Ambedkar credited it to the Drafting Committee. The session was chaired by Prasad in Ambedkar’s presence. Prime Minister Nehru was not present; hence, there is no statement by him either to indicate his authorship or that he made any other comment. But as he was part of the Drafting Committee, his inputs would surely have gone into making the final draft. The draft read:
“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this _____ of (…….), do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”
In all, eight amendments to the draft were moved by various members. None of the amendments had any substantive points to convey. Following discussions on each, they were all negatived.
Ambedkar concluded, “I say that this preamble embodies what is the desire of every member of the House that this constitution should have its root, its authority, its sovereignty, from the people. That it has.”
On January 25, 1947, C. Rajagopalachari’s resolution led to the constitution of a 12-member Union Powers Committee (UPC). Nehru was elected chairperson of the UPC in its first meeting on March 2, 1947. A questionnaire and memorandum written by B.N. Rau formed the basis of the committee’s proceedings.
The first question Nehru asked the committee was whether India should go for a strong Centre and if so, what powers it should be given. In order to not get into a quagmire on the locus of federal powers, the committee on the advice of Nehru took up the recommendations made by Rau “seriatim”, that is, sequentially. The draft report presented to the CA in April 1947 said, inter alia:
“We are of the opinion that provisions should be made in the new Constitution for the recognition throughout the Union of the laws and public Acts and records of the judicial proceedings of the units and for judgments and orders delivered in one unit being enforced in other units. We note that a provision of this effect has already been made in the list of fundamental rights.”
The significance of this statement for contemporary India lies in its making judicial proceedings and verdicts coming from different levels of the judiciary relevant across the country. The emphasis on universalising this relevance has, over the decades, gone a long way in removing any ambiguity in the understanding of judicial verdicts.
The first report of the UPC submitted on April 17 shows that the recommendations of the committee under Nehru’s leadership were accepted by the CA following a ‘seriatim’ discussion in the relevant plenary sessions.
On April 30, 1947, the UCC (consisting of 12 members and which we have come across above) and the Provincial Constitution Committee (comprising 25 members) were constituted. Nehru was chosen to head the UCC on May 5, 1947. His role as chairman of the UCC was another important capacity in which he contributed to the framing of the constitution.
A joint meeting of the UCC and the Provincial Committee on June 6 took four crucial decisions:
“1. that the Constitution should be a Federal structure with a strong Centre;
2. that there should be three exhaustive legislative lists, viz., Federal, Provincial and Concurrent with residuary powers to the Centre;
3. that the States should be on a par with the Provinces as regards the Federal Legislative list, subject to the consideration of any special matter which may be raised when the lists have been fully prepared; and,
4. It was accepted as a general principle that the executive authority of the Federation should be co-extensive with its legislative authority.”
Each of these four decisions eventually became part of the constitution and continue to be relevant today.
As was mentioned earlier, Nehru presided over a meeting of the UCC in July 1947 where the body submitted a draft preamble to the CA.
Obviously, Nehru always took out time from his prime ministerial duties, which after partition were complex and onerous, to be present in several plenary sessions of the CA and enthusiastically and seriously participated on crucial aspects of the constitution.
Ajay K. Mehra is a political scientist. He was Atal Bihari Vajpayee Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, 2019-21 and Principal, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College, Delhi University (2018).
