It would have been difficult for the constituent Assembly to complete its historic task of drafting the constitution of independent India in just three years but for the experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935. Discuss.
It took around three years for the Indian constitution to be completed. This is considered as a very long duration for drafting the constitution. However, when one looks at the constitutional provisions it becomes quite clear that the constituent Assembly had indeed pulled out a mammoth task.
Indian constitution is one of the lengthiest written constitutions. The enactment of a unified constitution for the central and state Governments as well as numerous other causes such as mammoth diversity resulted in India ending up with a bulky and detailed constitution.
Indian constitution had numerous provision borrowed from other constitutions and legislations. Amedkar proclaimed proudly that the constitution was made by “ransacking all the known constitutions of the world”
Provisions were also incorporated from the American, British, Irish, USSR, German, Australian, and Canadian Constitutions. However, more than 50 % of the provisions of the Indian constitution had been adopted from the Government of India Act 1935.
The Government of India Act, 1935 was itself a product of Struggle by Indians for self rule. Though imperfect it provided a workable framework upon which the constituent Assembly could easily build upon. Moreover, two elections were contested by congress under the Act including the one in 1937 and 1946. This led to familiarity of the provisions of the act not only among the politicians but also the public.
Therefore, the constituent Assembly made necessary amendments to incorporate and adopt the Government of India Act 1935 as per the needs of Independent India. Though there might have been significant borrowing from the 1935 Act as well numerous other constitutions the making of Indian constitution was not a mere copy-paste job.
The voluminous Constituent Assembly debates indicate the deliberation and reasoning that went into each provision of the constitution. It would indeed have been a daunting task for the constituent Assembly to complete its historic tasks of drafting the Indian constitution within three years where it not for the framework and experience provided by the Government of India Act,1935
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