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THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
395 Articles, organised into 25 Parts and 12 Schedules, make up the Constitution of India

PARTS
Each Part collates Articles on specific themes. E.g. Fundamental Rights in Part III.

SCHEDULES
Each Schedule contains provisions necessary to apply related Articles.

Original Manuscript

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Browse digitised, edited and paragraph-numbered versions of critical primary materials related to the Indian Constitution and its origins.
HISTORICAL CONSTITUTIONS
The Constitution of India 1950 was preceded by British authored framework legislation to govern India, and proto-constitutional drafts by several Indian individuals and groups. These Historical Constitutions are archived here.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATES
The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by a Constituent Assembly. 167 days of plenary assembly debates from 9 December 1946 to 24 January 1950 are archived here.

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.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
Documents prepared by smaller groups of Constituent Assembly members which conducted preliminary research and advanced recommendations on specific constitutional topics.
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Travel through the various stage of the constitution-making process, discover the contributions of diverse institutions, and learn more about the framers of the Constitution through their biographies.

THE CONSTITUTION FRAMERS
Learn about the members of the Constituent Assembly, 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 the drafting of the Constitution of India 1950. Begin with our popular video on the making of the Indian Constitution.
INSTITUTIONS
The Constitution of India 1950 was drafted by the collective work of the following institutions:

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
A 389-member body responsible for drafting India’s Constitution.

COMMITTEES
Committees were created by the Constituent Assembly comprising smaller groups of members delegated with various responsibilities.

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.
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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.

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1946 Assembly Debates
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CR.ACMR.6

6. Anglo-Indians: The population of the Anglo-Indian community excluding the States is just over a lakh, that is, 0.04 per cent. Mr. Anthony, on behalf of the Anglo-Indians, contended that the census figures were inaccurate but even admitting a larger figure than the one given in the census, this community is microscopic, and to deal with it on a strictly population basis would mean giving it no representation at all. The representatives of the Anglo-Indians on the committee asked originally that they should have the following representation in the Legislatures:

House of the People	3
West Bengal	3
Bombay	2
Madras	2
Central Provinces and Berar	1
Bihar	1
United Provinces	1

Subsequently they asked that they should be guaranteed two seats in the House of the People and one in each Province in which they have representation at present, that is, a total of 8 altogether. After very considerable discussion, in the course of which the representatives of the Anglo-Indian community gave full expression to their views, the committee unanimously accepted the following formula, namely, that there shall be no reservation of seats for the Anglo-Indians but the President of the Union and the Governors of the Provinces shall have power to nominate representatives of the Anglo-Indian community to the Lower House in the Centre and in the Provinces respectively if they fail to secure representation in the legislatures as a result of the general election. We wish to congratulate the representatives of the Anglo-Indian community on the committee for not pressing their proposals which would not merely have introduced the principle of special weightage which was turned down as a general proposition by an overwhelming majority but would also have encouraged other small minorities to ask for representation wholly out of proportion to their numbers. We feel sure that by the operation of the formula recommended by us Anglo-Indians will find themselves given adequate opportunity effectively to represent in the legislatures the special interests of their community.