Freedom fighter and youngest member of Constituent Assembly T.M. Kaliyanan Gounder passes away

Freedom fighter and youngest member of Constituent Assembly T.M. Kaliyanan Gounder passes away

Recently the last surviving member of the Indian Constituent Assembly, ‘T.M. Kaliyanan Gounder died at the age of 101 in Tiruchengode, western Tamil Nadu.

Kaliyanan, who embraced Gandhian ideology from a rebellious youth, had also served as a member of the Constituent Assembly. He was only 27 years old when he was elected to the Constituent Assembly.

T.M. Kalliannan Gounder

  • Kaliyanan Gounder was born on January 10, 1921 in Akraypatti village of Namakkal. He joined the Indian National Congress at the age of 19, and was an active participant in the Quit India Movement, one of the biggest movements of Indian independence.
  • Gounder was reportedly the youngest member of the Constituent Assembly at the time, and also contributed as a member of India’s first provisional parliament.
  • Though he was known as Kasthuripatti Zamindar, he was a reformist who supported the abolition of the Zamindari system in India.

Indian Constituent Assembly and constitution-making

  • The Indian National Congress officially called for a Constituent Assembly for the first time in The idea was proposed by M.N. Roy. The British government accepted this in the 1940 ‘August resolution’ and in 1942; this demand of the Congress was accepted under the ‘Cripps Mission’. The Constitution of India is made by a ‘Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly was established on the basis of the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The then Constituent Assembly had a total of 389 members, of which 292 were representatives from the provinces, representatives from 93 princely states, and representatives from the four union territories.
  • The proceedings of the Constituent Assembly began on 13 December 1946 with an Objective Resolution submitted by Jawaharlal Nehru. The members of the Constituent Assembly were divided on the basis of the sect into three classes Muslim, Sikh, and General. The first session took place on 9 December 1946, the Muslim League boycotted it. A separate Constituent Assembly was formed for Pakistan through the partition plan of 3 June 1947.
  • Sachchidananda Sinha was appointed as the first Speaker of this assembly. But after his death, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected president. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the constitution-making committee. The Constituent Assembly held a total of 166 days in 2 years, 11 months, 18
  • The last meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 24 January 1950, and on the same day, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the first President of India by the Constituent Assembly.
  • When the constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, it had a total of 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 At present, there are 25 parts, 395 articles, and 12 schedules in the constitution.

Quit India Movement

  • On 8 August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi presented a clear roadmap to end British rule in India, calling for the launch of the Quit India movement in the session of the All India Congress Committee in Mumbai.
  • Gandhiji gave the slogan ‘Do or Die’ in his speech given at the historic Gowalia Tank Ground. This ground is now known as August Kranti Maidan.
  • The immediate cause of the movement was the failure of the Cripps mission.
  • There was a demand to form an interim government after the British left India, with the demand to end British rule in India with immediate effect, to get the cooperation of Indians in World War II against fascism.
  • The movement was not supported by the Muslim League, the Communist Party of India and the Hindu Mahasabha. The movement also did not get support from the Indian bureaucracy.

Source: The Hindu

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