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Question 11 of 12 · Making & Sources of the Constitution
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The first Law Minister of independent India was:

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Answer: Option B — Dr B. R. Ambedkar

Detailed Solution

  • Ambedkar. Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was the first Law Minister of independent India, in Jawaharlal Nehru's first cabinet (1947-1951).

About his role as Law Minister:

  • He was invited to join the cabinet in August 1947, although he was not a member of the Congress.
  • As Law Minister, he piloted the Hindu Code Bill, which aimed to reform Hindu personal law, giving women rights to property, divorce and inheritance.
  • When the bill was stalled in Parliament because of opposition, he resigned from the cabinet in September 1951.
  • The bill was later passed in parts (1955-1956), as the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Succession Act and other Acts.

His role in the Constitution:

  • He was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly (appointed 29 August 1947).
  • He played the main role in drafting the Constitution of India, and is called the "chief architect of the Constitution".
  • He defended the draft in the Constituent Assembly with great skill.
  • He described Article 32 (right to constitutional remedies) as the "heart and soul" of the Constitution.

About Dr Ambedkar:

  • He was born on 14 April 1891 at Mhow (now Dr Ambedkar Nagar), in Madhya Pradesh, in a Mahar family.
  • He studied at Columbia University (USA) and the London School of Economics, and became a barrister.
  • He fought against untouchability and caste discrimination all his life.
  • He led the Mahad Satyagraha (1927) for the right of Dalits to use water from a public tank.
  • He founded the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924), the Independent Labour Party (1936) and the Scheduled Castes Federation (1942).
  • He started newspapers such as "Mooknayak" and "Bahishkrit Bharat".
  • He embraced Buddhism, along with lakhs of his followers, at Nagpur on 14 October 1956.
  • He died on 6 December 1956 (Mahaparinirvan Diwas).
  • He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990.
  • 14 April is celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti; 26 November is Constitution Day.

Why not the other options?

Rajendra Prasad was the first President; Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar and K. M. Munshi were members of the Drafting Committee.

Quick tip

Remember: first Law Minister = Dr B. R. Ambedkar (resigned 1951 over the Hindu Code Bill); Chairman of the Drafting Committee; Mahad Satyagraha 1927; embraced Buddhism 1956.

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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.

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