The initial years of independence for India were marked by turbulence. A massive exchange of populations was taking place along India’s borders at Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Refugees poured in continuously and this was draining the resources of Indian states such as West Bengal and Punjab.
At the same time there existed over 500 princely states which needed to be integrated into the Union of India. Along with Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a major role in convincing the rulers of these states to accede to India. Through these extremely sensitive times when Indian nationhood was in its nascent stages, one man’s vision set India firmly on the road to progress – Jawaharlal Nehru’s.
One of the most pressing tasks on his hands was to draft the constitution of India. Although this responsibility had been given to Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Nehru also contributed to its formulation. He was determined that India would be secular and democratic in nature and had taken several inputs from the Government of India Act of 1935.
The Constituent Assembly adopted the constitution of India on 26 November 1949. The constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950. India was to have a federal form of government with each provincial state responsible for its own local affairs such as health and education and a central government in Delhi controlling matters of national interest such as foreign affairs, defence and finance.
A lower house of 500 representatives, Lok Sabha, would be elected by the adult population, while an upper house, Rajya Sabha, would be appointed by the state legislatures and the President.
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