Constituent Assembly Debates and Minority Rights

Abstract

T he Constituent Assembly debates mark a decisive turning point with regard to the state policies of group preference which have existed in India since the early 20th century. Provisions for special representation in the legislatures and reservation in government employment had been instituted by the colonial state1 as well as by some princely states,2 primarily for groups designated as minorities or 'backward'. The question of minority safeguards, as colonial policies for the accommodation of minorities were termed, had been critical at various stages of the negotiations leading up to Indian independence. The colonial state deemed a satis-