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Constitution Day of India 2025: On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect on January 26, 1950. While January 26 is celebrated as Republic Day, since 2015, November 26 is observed as the Constitution Day of India, or Samvidhan Divas.
The Constituent Assembly took two years, 11 months and 17 days to draft the Constitution for Independent India. During this period, it held 11 sessions covering 165 days, and its members submitted around 7,600 amendments to the draft Constitution.
November 26, 1949, thus, was the culmination of a momentous journey. When the Constituent Assembly met that day, two resolutions were adapted — “That the Constitution as settled by the Assembly be passed”; and “that the Constituent Assembly do adjourn till such date before the 26th of January, 1950 as the President may.”
Before this, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel made a short statement, announcing that states had accepted the Constitution the House had gathered to adopt.
President Rajendra Prasad then made a speech congratulating the members for their achievement, with special mention of a few, including Ambedkar, Patel, and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Here are the highlights of his speech, and of the day.
On the Constitution’s language
When the Assembly met that day, United Provinces (later Uttar Pradesh) member Algu Rai Shashtri asked the President, “I would like to know from you as to when and in which form the Hindi Translation of this Constitution would appear… you had yourself declared that the Constitution of our Nation would be framed in our own National Language but you have not yet made any definite announcement on this question.”
To this, Rajendra Prasad replied, “You would be aware that some articles have been adopted in the Constitution wherein it has been decided which would be the language for official use. Therein it has also been decided that for the next 15 years all official work at the Centre would be carried in English… At present perhaps it will not be possible to place the Constitution in Hindi before this House and to get it adopted. Besides this, the Constituent Assembly has itself passed a resolution directing me to publish the Hindi translation of the Constitution by the 26th of January. I am making arrangements for that and the translation would be published by the 26th of January…I would also, as soon as possible, get it translated and published in other languages.”
Prasad also mentioned how much money the process of preparing the Constitution had cost. “The cost too which the Assembly has had to incur during its three year’s existence is not too high when you take into consideration the factors going to constitute it. I understand that the expenses up to the 22nd of November come to Rs. 63,96,729.”
The two ‘intractable problems’ solved
Prasad talked about how the British had conquered different parts of India at different times, and when they left, integration of the various territories had been a major problem. “The Constituent Assembly therefore had at the very beginning of its labours, to enter into negotiations with them to bring their representatives into the Assembly…It must be said to the credit of the Princes and the people of the States no less than to the credit of the States Ministry under the wise and far-sighted guidance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that by the time we have been able to pass this Constitution, the States are now more or less in the same position as the Provinces.”
The other major issue he mentioned was “the communal problem”, and celebrated the end of separate electorates. “…even reservation of seats has been given up by the communities concerned and so our Constitution does not provide for reservation of seats on communal basis, but for reservation only in favour of two classes of people in our population, namely, the depressed classes who are Hindus and the tribal people, on account of their backwardness in education and in other respects,” Prasad said.
His two regrets
“There are only two regrets which I must share with the honourable Members,” Prasad said.
“I would have liked to have some qualifications laid down for members of the Legislatures. It is anomalous that we should insist upon high qualifications for those who administer or help in administering the law but none for those who made it except that they are elected.”
“The other regret is that we have not been able to draw up our first Constitution of a free Bharat in an Indian language. The difficulties in both cases were practical and proved insurmountable. But that does not make the regret any the less poignant.”
