ReadThe Constitution of India
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THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
464 Articles organised into 25 Parts and 12 Schedules make up the current Constitution.

PARTS
Collection of Articles on specific themes e.g. Fundamental Rights under Part III.

SCHEDULES
Contains additional information that has not been included in any Articles.

Original Manuscript

Regional Translations

Browse digitised, edited and paragraph-numbered versions of critical primary materials related to the Indian Constitution and its origins.
HISTORICAL CONSTITUTIONS
Pre-1946 documents drafted either as British-authored legislation to govern India, or aspirational political documents written by Indians, that greatly influenced the Constitution of India 1950.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
Documents prepared by smaller groups of Constituent Assembly members which conducted preliminary research and advanced recommendations on specific constitutional topics.

Browse digitised, edited and paragraph-numbered versions of critical primary materials related to the Indian Constitution and its origins.

PETITIONS
Feedback and suggestions from groups, organizations, and individuals to the Constituent Assembly on India’s new Constitution.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATES
Transcripts of 167 days of plenary debates that took place in the Constituent Assembly from 9 December 1946 to 24 January 1950.
ExploreConstitution-Making
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Explore the individuals, institutions, and processes involved in drafting the Constitution of India 1950, including biographies of constitution framers, the work of institutions involved, and the various stages of the Constitution-making process. Trace the connections between these aspects of constitution-making and explore further using our curated list of primary materials and additional reading resources.

THE CONSTITUTION FRAMERS
Learn about the early lives of the Constituent Assembly members, the role they played in India’s freedom movement and their contributions to constitution-making.

STAGES OF CONSTITUTION-MAKING
A stage-by-stage overview of how the Indian Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution of India, along with links to primary and secondary resources to help you delve deeper. Be sure to check out our popular video on constitution-making!
INSTITUTIONS
The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by the collective work of the following institutions:

COMMITTEES
Smaller groups of members appointed by the Constituent Assembly to conduct preliminary research and deliberate on specific aspects of the Constitution.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
A 389-member body responsible for drafting India’s Constitution who came from diverse social, economic and political backgrounds.

CONGRESS ASSEMBLY PARTY
An unofficial forum consisting of Assembly members belonging to the Indian National Congress that met on the side-lines of the Assembly.
LearnDigital Classroom
EngageWritings & Media
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Engage

Discover a wide range of writings and original multimedia content, in the form of blogs, podcasts and videos, that offer valuable insights into the history of India's Constitution, highlighting its relevance to current events both in India and worldwide. We rely on our extensive database of primary materials to produce this content.

Museum
Explore India’s rich constitutional and political history through a diverse collection of archival images, audio and video.

1946 Assembly Debates
Audio

Blog
Articles that engage with important political, social and legal developments in India and the world through constitutional and political history.

Podcasts
Our writings and research brought to life through voice. Also features interviews with scholars and educators.

Videos
Workshops, talks, and educational videos exclusively produced by us on India’s constitutional origins.

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Home ≫ Historical Constitutions

Historical Constitutions

The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by the Constituent Assembly from 1946-1950. However, this Constitution drew on a longer history of antecedents documents drafted either as legislation governing British India or aspirational political documents. This section of the website presents carefully selected, edited and human tagged versions of these ‘historical constitutions.’

Draft of Indian Woman's Charter of Rights And Duties (All India Women's Conference, 1946)

The Revolutionary (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, 1925)

The Constitution of India Bill (Unknown, 1895)

Indian Councils Act, 1909

Karachi Resolution (1931)

Sapru Committee Report (Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, 1945)

The Congress-League Scheme 1916 (INC & AIML)

Indian Independence Act 1947 (UK Parliament)

States and Minorities (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, 1945)

Preliminary Notes on Fundamental Rights 1946 (B.N. Rau)

The Commonwealth of India Bill (National Convention, India, 1925)

Constitution of Free India : A Draft (M.N. Roy, 1944)

Declaration of Purna Swaraj (Indian National Congress, 1930)

Cabinet Mission Plan (Cabinet Mission, 1946)

Government of India Act, 1919

Government of India Act 1935

Poona Pact 1932 (B.R Ambedkar and M.K Gandhi)

Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947

Draft Constitution of the Republic of India (Socialist Party, 1948)

Nehru Report (Motilal Nehru,1928)

Outline of a New Constitution (B.N. Rau, 1946)

Irwin Declaration (Lord Irwin, 1929)

Political Demands of Scheduled Castes (Scheduled Castes Federation,1944)

Gandhian Constitution for Free India (Shriman Narayan Agarwal, 1946)