INCREMENTALIST MAKING OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION: : A ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ STUDY

Abstract

The making of the Constitution within a period of three years after establishment of the Constituent Assembly is perhaps one of the greatest achievements of India post-independence.  However, the making of the Constitution was in itself a humongous and challenging task taking into account the size, diversity, and the complex problems that this newly formed nation presented.  In fact, it is quite often said that what is done by the political leaders behind the scenes has more significance than what comes out in front of the public. This is true for the process of making of the Constitution of India as well. While the making of the Indian Constitution can and has been studied from many perspectives, including the rationale of different philosophies, the developed Jurisprudential aspects of societies inculcated in the different Constitutions or the presence of diverse portfolios in the Constituent Assembly and its impact on the final draft etc. Such studies are even conducted today. For example, a recent study¹tried to decipher as the process of the making of the Constitution by analysing the assembly debate from various data heads such as which member spoke the most or which spoke the least and if the person who spoke the least, were its ideas presented in the Constitution. Also, what was the frequency  of usage of certain words such as ‘religion’, ‘education’, ‘health’, ‘language’ etc. The purpose of such studies is to understand the frame of mind of the Constitution makers and how it was dealt with.