Question

The members of the Constituent Assembly were:

• A. Nominated by the Governor-General
• B. Directly elected by the people
• C. Elected by the legislatures of various provinces and nominated by the rulers of the princely states
• D. Nominated by the Congress and the Muslim League

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Elected by the legislatures of various provinces and nominated by the rulers of the princely states

• The Constituent Assembly of India was formed to draft the Constitution of India. The composition of this assembly was determined through a specific process outlined in the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.

• The members of the Constituent Assembly were selected through two different methods:

  1. Provincial Representatives: Members from British provinces were elected by the provincial legislative assemblies. Each province was allocated seats based on its population, with one seat for every million people. These seats were distributed among different communities - General, Muslim, and Sikh - in proportion to their population in each province.

  2. Princely State Representatives: The princely states were given the right to nominate their representatives to the Constituent Assembly. The rulers of these princely states had the authority to choose who would represent their states in the assembly.

• This dual system ensured representation from both the directly administered British provinces and the semi-autonomous princely states that existed in India at the time. The assembly initially had 389 members, but after partition, it was reduced to 299 members as the representatives from areas that became Pakistan withdrew.

• The Constituent Assembly was not directly elected by the people (Option B), nor was it nominated by the Governor-General (Option A) or by political parties like Congress and Muslim League (Option D). Instead, it followed the systematic approach of legislative election from provinces and nomination from princely states, making Option C the correct answer.