What was the total strength of the Constituent Assembly as fixed by the Cabinet Mission Plan?
- A.299
- B.389
- C.296
- D.395
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is 389. The Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 fixed the total strength of the Constituent Assembly at 389 seats: 296 for British India and 93 for the princely states. Of the 296 British Indian seats, 292 were for the eleven governors' provinces and 4 for the chief commissioners' provinces.
Every other option is a real number from the same chapter, placed to catch a hurried reader. 299 is the strength of the Assembly after Partition, when the members from the areas that went to Pakistan left. 296 is only the share of British India, without the princely states. 395 is not a count of members at all: it is the number of Articles in the Constitution as originally adopted. Questions on this topic often place these numbers side by side, so link each one to what it counts: 389 members at the start, 299 after Partition, 296 seats for British India and 395 original Articles.
Read the full article: Making of the Indian Constitution: Notes, Key Dates and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allThe constituent assembly was formed on the recommendation of the Cabinet Mission which visited India in______.
- A.1962
- B.1959
- C.1952
- D.1946
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The Cabinet Mission came to India in 1946 to work out how power would be handed over, and its plan laid down how a Constituent Assembly would be formed: 389 seats in all, 296 for British India and 93 for the princely states, with the members from the provinces elected…
Read the full explanation →When did the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly take place?
- A.January 1950
- B.August 1945
- C.December 1946
- D.July 1948
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The Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946. The Muslim League boycotted the sitting and pressed its demand for a separate Pakistan, and Dr Sachchidananda Sinha, the oldest member, presided as temporary President.
Read the full explanation →Who presided over the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly as its temporary President?
- A.Dr Rajendra Prasad
- B.Dr Sachchidananda Sinha
- C.Jawaharlal Nehru
- D.G.V. Mavalankar
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When the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946, Sinha, its oldest member, was made the temporary President, following the French practice of letting the senior-most member preside until a regular head is chosen.
Read the full explanation →Who replaced Sachchidananda Sinha as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly of India?
- A.Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
- B.Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- C.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- D.Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
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Dr Sachchidananda Sinha presided over the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly on 9 December 1946 only as its temporary President.
Read the full explanation →Who moved the Objective Resolution that was later adapted as the Preamble of the Constitution of India?
- A.Rajendra Prasad
- B.JB Kripalani
- C.Jawaharlal Nehru
- D.BR Ambedkar
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Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly on 13 December 1946, and the Assembly adopted it on 22 January 1947.
Read the full explanation →