By Dr. C. D. Sreenivasa Murthy
The British Government took over the administration of India from the East India Company immediately after the First War of Independence (Sepoy Mutiny) in 1857. They had a very low opinion about Indians and their capacity to rule themselves. In 1927, the then Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead challenged Indians by saying, “Let them produce a Constitution which carries behind it a fair measure of general agreement among the great peoples of India.” In response, the Indian National Congress in 1928 appointed a Committee with Motilal Nehru as the Chairman “to determine the Principles of the Constitution for India.” The Motilal Nehru report was submitted on 10th August, 1928. It was an outline of a Draft Constitution for India. Most of its features were later included in the Constitution of India. The Nehru’s report laid special emphasis on securing fundamental human rights and visualised a Parliamentary system. It is interesting to note that Motilal Nehru report had recommended that “the redistribution of provinces should take place on a linguistic basis.”
