CDS (II) 2020 General Knowledge · Question 78 of 120

Correct — A, B. N. Rau. Benegal Narsing Rau was appointed Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 — a civil servant and judge brought in for his expertise, not an elected member. In 1946 he travelled to the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom to consult constitutional scholars and judges, including Justice Felix Frankfurter, and in October 1947 he produced the first full draft of a constitution. That draft became the working document from which the Drafting Committee proceeded. Ambedkar himself put it plainly, saying that the credit given to him belonged partly to Sir B. N. Rau, the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly, who prepared a rough draft of the Constitution for the consideration of the Drafting Committee.

• (b)B. R. Ambedkar — Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee and was a member of the Assembly and the Law Minister — the political and intellectual head of the drafting, but not the Adviser, which was an official post.
• (c)Pattabhi Sitaramayya — Pattabhi Sitaramayya was a Congress leader, a historian of the party, and later Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He held no advisory office in the Assembly.
• (d)Alladi Krishnaswamy — Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar was one of the ablest lawyers in the Assembly and a member of the Drafting Committee, which is what makes him the strongest wrong answer here — a member, not the Adviser.

The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946 with Sachchidananda Sinha as provisional President; Rajendra Prasad was elected President on 11 December. The Assembly worked through committees, of which the Drafting Committee, set up in August 1947 under Ambedkar with seven members, is the best known. Behind the members stood two civil servants: B. N. Rau as Constitutional Adviser, who wrote the first draft, and S. N. Mukherjee as Chief Draftsman, who turned the Assembly's decisions into precise legal language. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.

The distinction being tested is between holding office in the Assembly and advising it. Rau was staff, not a member, and that is exactly why the question uses the word advisor. It helps to attach one line to each name. Rau prepared the first draft after studying constitutions abroad; Ambedkar chaired the committee that reworked it and piloted it through the House; Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar sat on that committee; Sitaramayya belongs to Congress party history rather than to the drafting at all. Rau's later career is a useful anchor too, since he went on to represent India at the United Nations and to serve as a judge of the International Court of Justice.

• B. N. Rau was appointed Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and submitted his draft constitution in October 1947.
• In 1946 he consulted constitutional experts in the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, among them Justice Felix Frankfurter.
• The Drafting Committee's first draft was published in February 1948 and the second in October 1948.
• The two civil servants who assisted the Assembly were B. N. Rau as Constitutional Adviser and S. N. Mukherjee as Chief Draftsman.
• The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.

• Answering Ambedkar to any question about the making of the Constitution. He chaired the Drafting Committee; the Adviser was Rau.
• Confusing the Constitutional Adviser with the Chief Draftsman, S. N. Mukherjee.
• Assuming the Adviser was an elected member of the Assembly. The post was an official appointment.

As a person-to-role match within the Constituent Assembly, or as a straight recall of who prepared the first draft.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who prepared the first draft of the Constitution of India, which was placed before the Drafting Committee?

  • (a)B. R. Ambedkar
  • (b)B. N. Rau
  • (c)K. M. Munshi
  • (d)Rajendra Prasad

  Answer(b) B. N. Rau — as Constitutional Adviser he submitted his draft in October 1947, and the Drafting Committee worked from it.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who acted as the provisional President of the Constituent Assembly at its first sitting on 9 December 1946?

  • (a)Rajendra Prasad
  • (b)Sachchidananda Sinha
  • (c)B. R. Ambedkar
  • (d)C. Rajagopalachari

  Answer(b) Sachchidananda Sinha — as the eldest member; Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President on 11 December 1946.