Patna: The present generation might not know that well before its official adoption on November 26, 1949, the final draft of the Constitution of India was brought to Patna to obtain the signature of Dr Sachchidanand Sinha, the chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
As the final draft had to be signed by all the members of the Constituent Assembly and the chairman himself was unable to move to Delhi owing to his ill health, Dr Rajendra Prasad suggested that the draft copy should be taken to Patna to get his signature.And, accordingly, the draft was taken to Dr Sinha's residence, the present-day Sinha Library, to obtain his signature. Only then, all other members, who had drafted the Constitution, would sign the copy.
Former professor of Patna University (PU) and former director of A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies Yuvraj Deo Prasad, told this newspaper that 284 members of the Constituent Assembly signed the Indian Constitution at the Constitution Hall of Parliament in New Delhi on January 24, 1950. That day, the Constituent Assembly met for the last time and it was during this sitting that Dr Rajendra Prasad's name was announced as the first President of India. The Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950 after being approved by the Constituent Assembly, he said.
"Supposed to be the world's lengthiest written Constitution, it had 395 Articles, 22 parts and eight Schedules when it came into effect. It wasn't typeset or printed; instead, it was handwritten in both English and Hindi, showcasing elegant calligraphy. It had 90,000 words. It was entirely handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose, with the calligraphy done by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in Delhi," Prasad said.
PU ancient Indian history and archaeology department's former head Jayadeo Mishra said there were only three copies of the handwritten Constitution at that time. Later, 1,000 photolithographic reproductions of the Constitution were brought out, copies of which were distributed among parliamentarians, ministers and other eminent leaders of the time, he said.
In Patna, at least five copies of the Constitution are available at different places. Dr Rajendra Prasad donated his own copy of the Constitution to Patna Museum, where it is safely preserved, said Patna Museum's curator Shankar Suman. Later on, two more copies of the printed Constitution, including the copy received by Mungeri Lal, who was elected member of the Bihar Assembly in 1952, were given to Patna Museum. Other copies of the Indian Constitution are in the possession of Sinha Library, where the copy received by Sinha is kept, and Gandhi Sangrahalay, which has got a copy donated by Tripura's former governor and parliamentarian Siddheshwar Prasad in 2017, he said.