Defining Rights

The Constitution was not written from scratch by a single committee. Instead, the Constituent Assembly set up several specialised committees to draft different parts of the document. One of the most important of these was the Union Constitution Committee, chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru.

This committee was tasked with defining the nature of the Union — the central government of India. Its recommendations shaped the fundamental character of the Indian state. The committee's report, presented by Nehru, became the basis for extensive debate in the Assembly.

The key features proposed by the Union Constitution Committee included:

• A strong central government. The committee argued that India, emerging from the trauma of Partition and facing the challenge of integrating over five hundred princely states, needed a powerful Union. A weak centre, it was felt, would risk the nation's disintegration.

• A federal structure with a unitary bias. While India would be a federation of states, the central government would retain overriding powers. This meant that in matters of national importance, the Union could legislate for the entire country, and in an emergency, it could assume near-complete control.

• A parliamentary system based on the British model. The committee recommended a government headed by a Prime Minister and a Council of Ministers, collectively responsible to the lower house of Parliament (the Lok Sabha). The President would be the constitutional head of state, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

• Universal adult franchise. This was a radical and defining choice. The committee, and Nehru in particular, insisted that every Indian citizen above the age of 21, regardless of wealth, education, caste, or gender, would have the right to vote. This was a powerful statement of faith in the common people.

• Fundamental rights and safeguards for minorities. The committee's report affirmed that the Constitution would guarantee certain basic rights to all citizens, and that special protections would be provided for religious and linguistic minorities. …