Republic Day 2022: Strange but true facts about the Indian Constitution
On November 26, 1949, the Constitution of independent India was finalised. This day is marked as Samvidhan Divas. The Constituent Assembly, led by the author our Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, worked for almost 3 years to create the document that governs us today. The Indian Constitution came into effect from January 26, 1950, the day we commemorate as Republic Day. Here is a round-up of amazing but less known facts about the Indian Constitution.
The Constitution was originally drafted in two languages
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Father of the Indian Constitution, was a very learned man, proficient in several languages. He drafted our enormous Constitution in English and Hindi. He also made sure that all members of the Constituent Assembly signed both copies after they were finalised. These original copies of the Indian Constitution have been preserved in special helium-filled cases in the Library of the Parliament of India.
The English version is the longest Constitution of the world
You have heard this before. But do you know ‘long’ means 1,17,369 words, divided into 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 115 amendments? Before being finalised, the Constituent Assembly kept running through the huge document over and over again, making changes. 2000 amendments were made before finalisation. It took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to draft it! In contrast, the Constitution of Monaco is the shortest one, with only 3,814 words.
The Constitution was handwritten and even illustrated
The Constitution of India was published in Dehradun by Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a calligrapher who wrote it painstakingly in a flowing italic style. It was illustrated by artists from Shantiniketan, the university established by Rabindranath Tagore.
The first Parliament session was the Constituent Assembly
Dr Sachchidananda Sinha presided over the first session of the Constituent Assembly on December 9, 1946. This was also the first session of the Parliament of India, though we were yet to officially achieve freedom.
The Father of the Indian Constitution was willing to burn it
Dr. Ambedkar was not happy with the powers granted to governors of the states and to state governments. He wanted them to have much more power. He was so fed up with the arguments that he said he didn’t want the Constitution and would willingly be the first person to burn it!