Constituent Assembly of India

The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.

Nature of the Assembly

The Constituent Assembly, consisting of indirectly elected representatives, was set up for the purpose of drafting a constitution for India (including what are now the separate countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh). In the event, it remained in being for almost three years, acting as the first parliament of India after independence in 1947.

The Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December, 1946. The last session of the Assembly was held in November, 1949. Over the course of this period (two years, eleven months and seventeen days), the Assembly held eleven sessions, sitting on a total of 165 days.

Background and election

The Constituent Assembly was set up while India was still under British rule, following negotiations between Indian leaders and members of the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India from the United Kingdom. The Assembly members were elected to it indirectly by the members of the individual provincial legislative assemblies, and initially included representatives for those provinces which came to form part of Pakistan, some of which are now within Bangladesh. The Constituent Assembly had 217 representatives, including 15 women.

The Interim Government of India was formed on 2 September 1946 from the newly-elected Constituent Assembly.

The Congress held a large...
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