Committees of Constituent Assembly – 8 Major Committees, Constitutional Committee Chairman

Committees of Constituent Assembly

In 1946, the Constituent Assembly met for the first time and selected 22 committees of the constituent assembly to deal with various affairs of constitution-making. Different committees of the Constituent Assembly got established to manage various departments of creating the Indian Constitution, which is currently an Independent India.

Which Committee Was Recommended for a Constituent Assembly?

The drafting committee of the Indian Constitution is very notable in Indian Polity history as it has a vital role in drafting the constitution. There is a huge significance of Parliamentary committees that ensures clarity and efficiency in law-making procedure.

The Constituent Assembly Committees can be divided into three categories:

• Drafting Committee
• Constitutional Committee on Procedural Affairs
• Indian Constitution Committee on Substantive Affairs

Major Committees of Constituent Assembly

There were 22 committees of the constituent assembly; out of these were 8 major committees, and the remaining were considered minor committees of the constituent assembly.

8 Major Committees of Constituent Assembly	Chairman
Union Powers Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
Union Constitution Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
Provincial Constitution Committee	Sardar Patel
Drafting Committee	Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas	Sardar Patel
Rules of Procedure Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States)	Jawaharlal Nehru
Steering Committee Chairman	Dr. Rajendra Prasad

The Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas further consisted of sub-committees, which are as follows:

1. Fundamental Rights Committee – Chairman J.B. Kripalani
2. Minorities Committee – Chaired by H.C. Mukherjee
3. North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Committee -Gopinath Bardoloi
4. Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas Committee – A.V. Thakkar
5. North-West Frontier Tribal Areas Sub-Committee Chairman information is unavailable, but the members included Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Khan Abdul Samad Khan, and Mehr Chand Khanna.

Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution

Dr. BR Ambedkar evolved as the chairman of the Drafting Committee. The drafting committee was the most important committee of the constituent assembly as it was responsible for drafting the new constitution. It was set up on 29 August 1947

The drafting committee members were:

• N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
• Muhammad Saadullah
• KM Munshi
• Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
• Dr. DP Khaitan (Replaced by TT Krishnamachari)
• N Madhava Rao replaced BL Mittar following his resignation on health problems.

Minor Committees of Constituent Assembly

Check here the complete list of the minor committees of the constituent assembly and their chairmen. Gain complete details of the concept to score well in the upcoming exam.

Committees of Constituent Assembly	Chairman
Finance and Staff Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Credentials Committee	Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
House Committee	B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Order of Business Committee	Dr. K.M. Munshi
Ad-hoc Committee on the National Flag	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly	G.V. Mavalankar
Ad-hoc Committee on the Supreme Court	S. Varadachari
Committee on Chief Commissioners’ Provinces	B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Expert Committee on the Financial Provisions of the Union Constitution	Nalini Ranjan Sarkar
Linguistic Provinces Commission	S.K. Dar
Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution	Jawaharlal Nehru
Press Gallery Committee	Usha Nath Sen
Ad-hoc Committee on Citizenship	S. Varadachari

Work Stages of Committees of Constituent Assembly

Mentioned are the 5 work stages of committees of the constituent assembly.

• Committees submitted information on matters.
• B. N. Rau formulated an initial draft based on the reports and his analysis of the constitutions of other nations.
• B. R. Ambedkar suggested an elaborate draft constitution issued for public discussion.
• The draft constitution was examined, and revisions were indicated and passed.
• The constitution was set, with a committee of specialists led by the Congress Party (known as the Congress Assembly Party) playing a pivotal function.

Timeline of Constitutional Committee

Listed is the detailed timeline of the formation of the Indian constitution in 1950 from the committees of the constituent assembly.

Timeline	Responsibility of the Constitutional Committee
9 December 1946	Shaping of the Constituent Assembly (urging a distinct state.)
11 December 1946	President Appointed – ⁣Rajendra Prasad, vice-chairman Harendra Coomar Mookerjee and constitutional legal counsel B. N. Rau (Members dropped to 299 after partition from 389).
13 December 1946	Jawaharlal Nehru presented an ‘Objective Resolution’.
22 January 1947	The resolution was taken into effect without opposition.
22 July 1947	The national flag was embraced.
15 August 1947	Acquired independence. India was divided into the Dominion of Pakistan and the Dominion of India.
29 August 1947	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar became the chairman, and a drafting committee was established.
16 July 1948	V. T. Krishnamachari was chosen as the second vice-president of the Constituent Assembly along with Harendra Coomar Mookerjee.
26 November 1949	The constituent assembly passed and acquired the Constitution of India.
24 January 1950	The Constitution of India was marked and authorized with 395 articles, 8 schedules, and 22 parts during the final meeting.
26 January 1950	After 2 years, with a total expense of ₹6.4 million, the Constitution of India came into power.

Difference Between Constituent Assembly and Drafting Committee

The Constituent Assembly was set up to draft the Constitution for Independent India. The assembly then appointed 22 Constituent Assembly Committees distributing the tasks into different committees. The most important of those constitutional committees was the Drafting Committee which was chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.

As you know, the Constituent Assembly was responsible for the making of the Constitution, while the Drafting Committee was responsible for preparing a draft of the Constitution. Here are some of the basic differences between the two committees.

Constituent Assembly	Drafting Committee
It was formed in 1946 to draft the Constitution of India.	It was formed in 1947 by the Constituent Assembly to prepare a draft of the Constitution.
It consisted of 389 members who were elected by the Provincial Assemblies.	It consisted of 7 members who were appointed by the Constituent Assembly.
Constituent Assembly was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.	Drafting Committee was chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
It was responsible for discussing and debating various provisions of the Constitution.	It was responsible for preparing a draft of the Constitution based on the discussions and debates held by the Constituent Assembly.

The complete details of the constituent assembly are essential for the UPSC exam. The questions such as “Which committee was recommended for a constituent assembly?” can be asked in Prelims and Mains.

UPSC Notes
Round Table Conference	National Flag of India
Bharat Ratna Award List	7th Schedule of Indian Constitution
Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference	Article 21 of Indian Constitution