Question

Which of the following statements is/are not true?
1.The Constituent Assembly was directly elected by the people of India.
2.The Muslim League boycotted the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly which was held on December 9, 1946.
3.B.N Rau was appointed as the constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly.
4.On December 13, 1946, Pandit Nehru moved the historic ‘Objectives Resolution’.
A.1 and 2
B.3 and 4
C.2,3 and 4
D.Only 1

Answer 1

Hint: The process of evolution of the Indian Constitution started several decades ago during the struggle for independence but it was drafted and adopted post-independence. Under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, the elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in August 1946. When the Constituent Assembly first met in December 1946, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as its president and H.C Mukherjee was elected as the Vice President. The Drafting Committee was formally constituted after independence, which was then tasked with drafting the Constitution of free India. Dr B.R Ambedkar was elected the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.

Complete answer:
Option A: is incorrect. Although the first statement is false, the second statement is true. After the elections to the Constituent Assembly, the first session of the Assembly began on December 9, 1946, and it was boycotted by all 73 members of the Muslim League.
Option B: is incorrect because both the third and the fourth statements are true. B.N Rau was appointed the constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly and the Objectives Resolution was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on Dec 13, 1964, which carried the noble heritage of India’s freedom struggle.
Option C: is incorrect because all three statements 2, 3 and 4 are true. This has been explained in the options above.
Option D: is correct as statement 1 is false. The members of the Constituent Assembly were elected by the provincial assemblies and not directly by the people.

Hence, The correct answer is Option D.

Note: Do not confuse the dates of adoption of the Indian Constitution (Nov 26, 1949) and the Constitution coming into effect fully (Jan 26, 1950). Few important provisions of the Constitution came into force immediately after the adoption. These were provisions relating to citizenship and elections, the provision relating to parliament and provision relating to temporary and transitional features. All other provisions came into effect later.