Constituent Assembly (1946) Archives

1. Who was the Provisional President of the Constituent Assembly before D

Who was the Provisional President of the Constituent Assembly before Dr. Rajendra Prasad took over ?

C. Rajagopalachari

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

T.T. Krishnamachari

Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha

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UPSC IAS – 2024

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The correct option is D.

The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of India was held on December 9, 1946. Following the French practice, the oldest member, Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, was elected as the interim or provisional President of the Assembly. Later, on December 11, 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the permanent President.

C. Rajagopalachari was a prominent leader and the last Governor-General of India. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution. T.T. Krishnamachari was a member of the Drafting Committee.

2. Consider the following quote: “On the 26th January, 1950, we are going

Consider the following quote:
“On the 26th January, 1950, we are going to enter a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality.”
To whom among the following leaders is this quote attributed?

Mahatma Gandhi

Sarojini Naidu

B. R. Ambedkar

Somnath Lahiri

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UPSC CAPF – 2021

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This famous quote is attributed to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. It is from his concluding speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, delivered just a day before the Constitution was adopted. He spoke about the challenges India would face after becoming a republic, highlighting the contradiction of having political equality (one person, one vote) while persistent social and economic inequalities existed.

– The quote reflects on the inherent contradictions in Indian society at the dawn of the Republic.
– It contrasts political equality bestowed by the Constitution with existing social and economic disparities.
– The quote is from B.R. Ambedkar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution and is widely regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution. His speeches in the Constituent Assembly provide deep insights into the philosophy and objectives behind the constitutional provisions.

3. Who among the following warned his colleagues that the Constituent Ass

Who among the following warned his colleagues that the Constituent Assembly was British made and was “working the British plan as the British should like it to be worked out”?

Somnath Lahiri

B. R. Ambedkar

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

B. N. Rau

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UPSC CAPF – 2021

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The correct answer is A) Somnath Lahiri.

During the Constituent Assembly debates, Somnath Lahiri, a Communist member, expressed significant reservations about the nature and origins of the Assembly. He argued that the Assembly had been formed under the aegis of the British Cabinet Mission Plan and that the British government retained a significant degree of control over its functioning. He famously stated that the Assembly was “working the British plan as the British should like it to be worked out,” implying that it was not truly a sovereign body acting solely in the interests of the Indian people.

Other options are incorrect because B. R. Ambedkar was a key architect of the Constitution and Chairman of the Drafting Committee, thus unlikely to make such a fundamental critique of the Assembly’s legitimacy. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee represented a nationalist perspective but was not the source of this specific criticism regarding British influence on the Assembly’s core functioning. B. N. Rau was the Constitutional Advisor and played a technical role, not a political one involving such criticism.