Building the Indian Republic

India's leaders faced the task of turning a former colony of enormous diversity into a working democracy. A Constituent Assembly, elected indirectly in 1946, debated for nearly three years. Its drafting committee was chaired by B. R. Ambedkar, a lawyer and economist from a Dalit (formerly 'untouchable') background who had fought caste discrimination.

The constitution, adopted on 26 November 1949 and in force from 26 January 1950, created a federal parliamentary republic, guaranteed fundamental rights, abolished untouchability, and introduced universal adult suffrage from the start, an unusually bold choice in a country where most adults could not read.

The first general election, in 1951–52, involved about 173 million eligible voters and used party symbols so that non-literate citizens could vote. Critics noted continuing inequality, but India's survival as a democracy became one of the most significant outcomes of decolonization.