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Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas

This committee was set up to look into framing a separate chapter of fundamental rights for Indian citizens as well as the specific rights of minorities, tribal and excluded areas.

Members

Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar (Chairperson), B. R. Ambedkar, Govind Ballabh Pant, K. M. Munshi, K. T. Shah, Hansa Jivraj Mehta, Purushottam Das Tandon, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jaipal Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, B. Pocker Sahib Bahadur, B. Shiva Rao, Bakshi Tek Chand, Dakshayani Velayudhan, H. C. Mookherjee, Hasrat Mohani, Jagjivan Ram, Jairamdas Daulatram, Jawaharlal Nehru, M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, M. R. Masani, Mahavir Tyagi, Sucheta Kripalani, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, V.I. Muniswamy Pillai, Stanley Henry Prater, J. J. M. Nichols-Roy, R. K. Sidhwa, Ujjal Singh, Shankarrao Deo, Baldev Singh, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, , P. R. Thakur

Meeting Dates

  • February 27, 1947
  • April 21, 1947
  • April 22, 1947
  • July 28, 1947
Background

The Cabinet Mission Statement of 16 May 1946, laid down that a preliminary meeting of the Constituent Assembly should be established to determine the fundamental rights of citizens and minorities. Subsequently, the Objectives Resolution adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947, envisioned a Constitution for India that guaranteed justice, equality, and freedom to all people and provided adequate safeguards for minorities and backward classes.

The first task of the Assembly after adopting the Objectives Resolution was to form an Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, and Other Related Subjects. On 24 January 1947, the Assembly passed a resolution, initiated by Govind Ballabh Pant, to establish the Committee. Initially, the Committee was to consist of only 50 members, but the President was authorized to nominate an additional 22 members to the Committee.

Work Summary

The Committee convened on April 21 and 22 for a two-day meeting to review the recommendations proposed by the Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights and the interim report provided by the Minorities Sub-Committee. Prior to the meeting, Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar informed the Chairman of his intention to propose amendments to the clauses recommended by the Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee. Additionally, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur expressed opposition to certain changes made by the Minorities Sub-Committee in the recommendations of the Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee.

On 28 July 1947, the report of the Minorities Sub-Committee was presented to the Advisory Committee, and a discussion ensued for four days. The Committee largely endorsed the conclusions reached by the sub-committee, with the exception of appointing a sub-committee to investigate the status of Anglo-Indians in specific services and their access to existing educational facilities.

Key Documents
  1. Report of the Advisory Committee on the Subject of Fundamental Rights
  2. Report of the Advisory Committee on the Subject of Minority Rights on 8 August 1947
  3. Note by Alladi Krishanswwamy on free speech submitted to the Committee on 31 April 1947
Resources
  1. The Framing of India’s Constitution 1966, Vol. 2 by Shiva Rao
  2. Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation by Granville Austin