76 years ago, 264 Constituent Assembly members signed Indian Constitution: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday recalled that 76 years ago today, 264 members of the Constituent Assembly formally affixed their signatures to the Constitution of India, which is a charter for profound socio-economic transformation.

In a post on X, the Congress general secretary also recalled that the members sat together for a group photograph, which "is one for the ages".

"76 years ago today, 264 members of the Constituent Assembly formally affixed their signatures to the Constitution of India that they had earlier adopted on November 26, 1949. They signed three copies -- two of which were handwritten in English and Hindi and carried 22 illustrations by artists from Shantiniketan, led by none other than Nandalal Bose himself," Ramesh said.

The beautiful calligraphy in English was by Prem Behari Narayan Raizada, and the one in Hindi was by Vasant K Vaidya, he noted.

"The first page of these handwritten Constitutions had the national symbol that was designed by Dinanath Bhargava, who had spent a few months visiting the Kolkata Zoo at Nandalal Bose's insistence so as to ensure that the lions in the emblem looked exactly like the real lions," the Congress leader said.

"Quite apart from the fact that it is a charter for profound socio-economic transformation, the Lalit Kala Akademi set up in August 1954 has described the illustrated Constitution as 'a seminal art treatise' that navigates India's multi-layered history and celebrates the threads of unity in diversity," Ramesh said.

"That very day, the members sat together for a group photograph. It is one for the ages," he added.