By Pradip Jain
On November 26, 2024, India marked a historic milestone by celebrating the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. The Constitution, adopted in 1949, and enforced on January 26, 1950, established India as a sovereign, democratic republic. Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) has been commemorated annually since 2015 to honor this transformative moment in India’s history.
Commemorative postage stamps on Bharat – The Mother of Democracy
India had a history of Republics that existed before and after Buddha. One such republic was Lichchhavi, which was a part of Vajjika territory and the contemporary village of Basarh in Vaishali district of Bihar. The references of Lichchhavi are in Pali, Tibetan, Jain, Greek, Nepalese, and Chinese and Sanskrit texts. Universal Civil rights, franchise, general assembly, rule of law, deliberation, and procedures of committees and appeals are the democratic features, which were well-established in Lichchhavi Gana-Rajya. Lichchhavis had an open and secret ballot system; their presidents (Ganapati), Vice presidents (Upa Ganapati), army chiefs (Senapati), ambassadors and other key heads of administration -- judiciary were elected through consensus and electoral contests if required.
Dr Sachhidanand Sinha - first President of the Constituent Assembly and Dr Rajendra Prasad, who succeeded Dr Sinha and served as the President of the Constituent Assembly until the Constitution was adopted on January 24, 1950.
The Constitution of India was drafted by a Constituent Assembly elected under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The Assembly held its first meeting on December 9, 1946, and elected Dr Sachhidanand Sinha, the oldest member of the Assembly, as the temporary chairman.
On December 11, 1946, the Assembly elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as its permanent Chairman. 299 members (including 15 women) of the Assembly took less than three years (1946-1949) to draft the Constitution. Out of the 299 members, 284 members actually signed the Constitution.
Dr B R Ambedkar, Constitution Drafting Committee Chairman.
The Constituent Assembly set up 13 committees for framing the Constitution including a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr B R Ambedkar. On the basis of the reports of these committees, a draft of the Constitution was prepared by the seven-member Drafting Committee.
The Constitution of India was handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose.
The Constitution of India was not typeset or printed but was handwritten and calligraphic in both English and Hindi. It was handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose, a pioneer of modern Indian art who designed the border of every page of the Constitution. The pair of se-tenant stamps in the present issue feature the border from the Preamble of the Constitution. Shri Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a master of calligraphic art, handwrote the Constitution single-handedly, a task that took him six months to complete. Each part of the Constitution begins with a depiction of a phase or scene from India's national history.
The artwork and illustrations (22 in all), rendered largely in miniature style, represent vignettes from different periods of the history of the Indian subcontinent, ranging from Mohenjodaro in the Indus Valley, the Vedic period, the Gupta and Maurya empires and the Mughal era to the national freedom movement.
The cover illustration depicting Lord Vardhaman Mahavira in a meditative posture on the Calligraphic edition of the Constitution of India.
The image is a significant and symbolic representation of India's rich cultural and philosophical heritage. This unique artwork is part of the special edition of the Constitution of India, created to emphasize the deep roots of Indian traditions and values that have influenced the formation of the country’s democratic framework.
Republic of India Inauguration stamp set, issued in 1950.
In 1950, India became a republic and the first stamps of India as a republic were a series of four issued on that very day to commemorate the inauguration of the Republic of India. The designs of the stamps are simple and symbolic.
A commemorative coin, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution, was released on Samvidhan Divas 2024.
The people of India are the ultimate custodians of the Constitution. It is in them that sovereignty vests, and it is in their name that the Constitution was adopted. While the Constitution empowers the citizen, the citizen too empowers the Constitution — by following it, by adhering to it, by protecting it, and by persevering it to make it more meaningful with words and deeds.
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(All photos courtesy: Pradip Jain)
(The writer is a well-known philatelist from India who has served three terms as a Governing Council member of the Philatelic Congress of India. In 2024, he signed ‘The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists’, the highest and most prestigious honour in philately. Contact: [email protected])
