SSC
The Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly published the first Draft Constitution of India for public discussion in:
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Answer: Option D — February 1948
Detailed Solution
The Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly published the first Draft Constitution of India in February 1948, and the people of India were given about eight months to discuss it and suggest changes.
How the draft was prepared:
The Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly, Sir B. N. Rau, prepared an initial draft in October 1947, based on the reports of the various committees of the Assembly.
The Drafting Committee examined this draft, made many changes, and submitted the revised Draft Constitution to the President of the Constituent Assembly on 21 February 1948.
Public discussion:
- The draft was published and circulated widely, so that the people, the provincial governments, the legislatures, and experts could comment on it.
- Many comments, criticisms and suggestions were received.
- The Drafting Committee considered these, and prepared a reprint of the draft in October 1948, with its own suggested changes.
Discussion in the Constituent Assembly:
- The Draft Constitution was introduced in the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1948 (the first reading).
- The second reading, or clause-by-clause consideration, took place from November 1948 to October 1949.
- About 7,635 amendments were proposed, of which about 2,473 were actually discussed.
- The third reading followed, after which the Constitution was adopted.
Features of the draft:
- It contained a Preamble, Articles and Schedules, many of which were later revised.
- It was based on the reports of the committees of the Assembly on different subjects.
The final Constitution:
The final text was much longer and more detailed than the first draft.
About B. N. Rau:
- Sir Benegal Narsing Rau was an Indian civil servant and jurist.
- He later served as a judge of the International Court of Justice.
Why not the other options?
- ✗August 1947 was the month of Independence; November 1948 was the month of the first reading in the Assembly; January 1950 was not the month of the first draft.
Quick tip
Remember: first Draft Constitution published in February 1948 (submitted on 21 February 1948); introduced in the Assembly on 4 November 1948; B. N. Rau prepared the initial draft (October 1947).
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Making & Sources of the Constitution — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Making & Sources of the Constitution, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers how the Indian Constitution was made: the Constituent Assembly, its committees and members, the drafting process and key dates, and the features India borrowed from other constitutions, such as the parliamentary system from Britain and Fundamental Rights from the USA. Exams frequently ask who chaired the Drafting Committee (B. R. Ambedkar), who was President of the Constituent Assembly (Rajendra Prasad), and when the Constitution was adopted (26 November 1949) and came into force (26 January 1950). Questions on borrowed features are very common, so learn a table of features and their source countries. Practise the making of the Constitution questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.