The Constitution of India was adopted 68 years ago by the Constituency Assembly, as mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution of India . However the adoption on that day was partial with the full adoption occurring on January 26, 1950 , which of course has since been celebrated as the Republic Day.
Officially, the day of November 26 continues to be celebrated. It is considered to be the second Constitution Day and also celebrated as the National Law Day.
History of November 26 as Law Day
The proposal to celebrate November 26 as the Law Day was first mooted in 1979 as a way to mark the adoption of Constitution and also as an occasion to assess the if “state of law” prevalent in the country was as envisioned by the authors of the legal document.
Eminent jurist and parliamentarian LM Singhvi proposed to the Supreme Court Bar Association that November 26 be celebrated as the National Law Day to celebrate the august occasion. Accordingly a resolution was passed in 1979 by the Supreme Court Bar Association. Thereafter the National Law Day came to be celebrated till 2015.
Modi Government Introduces Constitution Day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a change in October 2015, just over a year after taking over. He proposed that November 26 be celebrated as the Constitution Day as a tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar.
Ambedkar was the chairman of the Constituent Assembly’ drafting committee, which developed a draft that was approved and accepted on November 26 in 1949.
On November 19, 2015, the government released a gazette notification that declared November 26 as the Constitution Day. Several celebratory events were held that year as it was also the Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary.
In 2017, the National Law Day was celebrated in a joint manner by NITI Aayog and the Law Commission of India with the celebrations were spread over two days .
Interesting Facts About the Constituent Assembly
- The Constitution was developed over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 17 days. The last ever session of the Constituent Assembly was on December 9, 1946.
- Eleven sessions of the Constituent Assembly were held during the development of the Constitution, including those of the drafting committee.
- The drafting committee was one of the 17 bodies that were set up under the Constituent Assembly.
- Dr Rajendra Prasad, who was later named as the first President of India, was the chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
- The various committees involved in the development of the Constitution met over 165 days in order hold deliberations and debate on the provisions to be incorporated in the draft copy of the Constitution.
- The Constituent Assembly comprised 299 members that included 15 women. Of them, the final signatories numbered 284 at the time it was adopted in 1949.