Facts You Should Know About the Indian Constitution

Idea for a Constituent Assembly for drafting a con­stitution for India was first provided by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1895.

The elections for the  first Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. Ini­tially it had 389 members, but later the reformed Assembly had 324 members. 

The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December, 1946 in the Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House. 

The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India.

284 members of the Constituent Assembly (which included 15 women) signed the hand-written documents on January 24, 1950 and it came into force on January 26 the same year. 

The national emblem of India (the adapted version of Sarnath Lion Capital of Asoka with the wheel, bull, and horse) was adopted by the Government on 26 January, 1950.

It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 115 amendments.

The drafting committee had handwritten and calligraphed the constitution - both in English and in Hindi.

Some of the points in constitution are borrowed from other constitutions such as the principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity that were taken from the French constitution.