Q20. Through which plan was the Constituent Assembly created?
[MPPSC State Service Prelims 2023, 17 December 2023]
(A) Cripps Mission Plan
(B) Cabinet Mission Plan
(C) Simon Commission
(D) None of the above
Answer: (B) Cabinet Mission Plan
Explanation: The Constituent Assembly was constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The plan proposed indirect elections from provincial legislatures and provision for representatives of princely states. Its constitutional framework preceded both India’s independence and the final adoption of the Constitution.
Q19. How were members of the Constituent Assembly chosen?
[WBCS (Executive) Preliminary Examination 2023]
(A) Elected by Provincial Assemblies
(B) Elected directly by the people
(C) Nominated by the British Government
(D) Represented only by the Princely States
Answer: (A) Elected by Provincial Assemblies
Explanation: Provincial representatives were indirectly elected by members of their legislative assemblies under the Cabinet Mission scheme. Princely-state representatives followed a nomination process. The Assembly was therefore not elected through universal adult franchise, although it represented diverse regions and political groups.
Q18. Who introduced the Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly on 13 December 1946?
[UPSC NDA-II, General Ability Test, 4 September 2022]
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Rajendra Prasad
(C) B. R. Ambedkar
(D) Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar
Answer: (A) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: Nehru introduced the Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946. It expressed the Assembly’s commitment to a sovereign and democratic constitutional order. The resolution was accepted on 22 January 1947 and later shaped the Preamble’s principles of justice, liberty and equality.
Q17. Who was elected President of the Constituent Assembly of India?
[RRB Group D, 19 September 2022, Shift 1]
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
(C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
(D) Lal Bahadur Shastri
Answer: (C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Explanation: Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President of the Constituent Assembly on 11 December 1946. Sachchidananda Sinha had presided temporarily over its opening meeting. Ambedkar’s separate office was chairman of the Drafting Committee, appointed in August 1947.
Q16. On which date did the Constituent Assembly establish the Drafting Committee under B. R. Ambedkar?
[RRB NTPC, CBT-II Level 6, 9 May 2022, Shift 1]
(A) 29 August 1947
(B) 20 August 1947
(C) 18 August 1947
(D) 25 August 1947
Answer: (A) 29 August 1947
Explanation: The Constituent Assembly formed the Drafting Committee on 29 August 1947. Ambedkar led the seven-member body responsible for refining constitutional proposals into a coherent text. After extensive debate and amendment, the Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949.
Q15. The Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly consisted of how many members?
[SSC CGL, Tier-I, 21 April 2022, Shift 3]
(A) 9
(B) 7
(C) 14
(D) 8
Answer: (B) 7
Explanation: The original Drafting Committee comprised seven members, including chairman B. R. Ambedkar. Other original members included Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K. M. Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, B. L. Mitter and D. P. Khaitan; two were subsequently replaced.
Q14. Consider:
(i) The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946.
(ii) Its first permanent President was Sachchidananda Sinha.
(iii) The Muslim League boycotted its first meeting.
Which statements are true?
[Chhattisgarh PSC (CGPSC), State Service Prelims 2022, Paper I]
(A) (i), (ii) and (iii)
(B) (i) and (iii)
(C) (i) and (ii)
(D) None of the above
Answer: (B) (i) and (iii)
Explanation: The first meeting was held on 9 December 1946, and the Muslim League stayed away. Sachchidananda Sinha was the temporary presiding officer, not the permanent President. Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President on 11 December 1946; therefore statements (i) and (iii) hold.
Q13. What was the exact constitutional status of India on 26 January 1950?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, GS Paper I, 2021]
(A) A Democratic Republic
(B) A Sovereign Democratic Republic
(C) A Sovereign Secular Democratic Republic
(D) A Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic
Answer: (B) A Sovereign Democratic Republic
Explanation: The original Preamble described India as a Sovereign Democratic Republic. The expressions “Socialist” and “Secular” were inserted into the Preamble by the Forty-second Constitutional Amendment in 1976. Their later addition makes the broader descriptions anachronistic for January 1950.
Q12. Who said in Constituent Assembly debates that separate electorates were a mischief left behind by British rule?
[UPPSC Combined State Examination, GS Paper I, 24 October 2021]
(A) Somnath Lahiri
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(D) N. G. Ranga
Answer: (C) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Explanation: Vallabhbhai Patel strongly criticised separate electorates during the constitutional debates. He argued that perpetuating religious divisions through electoral machinery would harm national cohesion. After independence and Partition, the Assembly favoured joint electorates instead of retaining separate communal representation.
Q11. When did the Constituent Assembly officially adopt “Jana Gana Mana” as India’s National Anthem?
[RRB NTPC, CBT-I, 12 March 2021, Shift 1]
(A) 26 January 1949
(B) 27 December 1911
(C) 26 January 1950
(D) 24 January 1950
Answer: (D) 24 January 1950
Explanation: The Constituent Assembly adopted “Jana Gana Mana” on 24 January 1950. The song, written by Rabindranath Tagore, had first been sung in 1911. Its formal adoption preceded Republic Day by two days and was one of the Assembly’s final decisions.
