Row over 22 illustrations in Constitution: A look at the art, the artists, and the message (original) (raw)

Parliament on Tuesday (February 11) saw an uproar over 22 illustrations in the Constitution. BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, during the Zero Hour, said the 22 illustrations are missing in most copies of the Constitution being sold today.

In response, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the signed copy of the Constitution by its framers, carrying 22 miniatures, is the only authentic copy, and the same should be promulgated in the country.

While the copy of the Constitution kept in Parliament has the illustrations, some less-bulky versions of the Constitution are sold with only the full text, without the illustrations and the signatures of the framers.

These 22 hand-painted images include scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, pictures of Ram, Mahatma Gandhi, Akbar, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Rani Laxmibai, among others. Here’s all you should know about them.

The illustrations

While the Constitution was handwritten by calligrapher Prem Behari Narain Raizada, the paintings were conceived and implemented in Santiniketan by artist-pedagogue Nandalal Bose and his team.

When placed in sequence, the narrative scheme of the paintings represents different periods in Indian history, from the Indus Valley civilisation to the freedom struggle, also including scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The illustrations also showcase the diverse geography of India, from camels marching in the desert to the mighty Himalayas. “It is a sequence of images which is his (Nandalal’s) vision of India’s history. He is not illustrating the content of the Constitution, but he is placing the history of India as he saw it. Present-day scholars and historians might have some disagreements about the sequence but that was the broad chronology talked about back then,” said art historian R Siva Kumar.

The appointment of artists

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Siva Kumar said Bose was approached with the task of illustrating in October 1949, just before the final session of the Constituent Assembly and the signing of the draft Constitution on November 26, 1949. “It is difficult to say how long the illustrations took and if they were completed before the signing…. in some instances, the signatures breach the space allotted for them and the borders skirt them, suggesting they were added later,” he said.

Two copies of the Constitution, one in English and one in Hindi, are handwritten and bear the paintings. Today, they are placed in a special helium-filled case in the Indian Parliament Library.

Bose was probably entrusted with the task due to his long association with the nationalist movement. A close aide of Mahatma Gandhi, he had designed posters for the Congress session at Haripura, near Bardoli in Gujarat, in 1938.

On the Constitution, Bose worked with a team of collaborators which included close family members, his students and fellow-artists, including Kripal Singh Shekhawat, A Perumal, and Direndrakrishna Deb Burman.

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The Preamble page has intricate patterns sketched by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha. (Photo courtesy: DAG)

The Preamble page has intricate patterns sketched by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and bears his signature, while Dinanath Bhargava sketched the National Emblem, the Lion Capital of Ashoka.

Siva Kumar said a note found among Nandalal’s papers suggests that the artists who painted the historical scenes were paid Rs 25 for each page.

It is believed that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who wanted the Constitution handwritten, and therefore Raizada, a graduate from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, was approached. The calligrapher, who had learnt the art from his grandfather, immediately agreed. Not charging a penny for the task, his only request was to have his name on each page and alongside his grandfather on the last. Allotted a room in the Constitution Hall, he reportedly took six months to complete the task, writing on parchment sheets both in Hindi and English.

The ideation of the artwork

According to Siva Kumar, the text and images in the Constitution have no direct correlation, as Nandalal was not illustrating the text or studying its details while planning the visual narrative. “A preliminary plan was drawn up, which saw deletions and additions,” Siva Kumar said.

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For instance, ‘portraits of Akbar and Shahjahan with Mughal architecture’ was replaced with an image of Akbar.

Ashish Anand, CEO and Managing Director of DAG, said: “Nandalal Bose’s career varied across his watercolour washes to his expressionist subaltern works in Santiniketan, and, indeed, the selection and style as well as imaging spans this spectrum in terms of subjects and influences. Illustrating the Constitution was a task that would survive for centuries, an onerous responsibility — and Nandalal Bose’s stamp exemplifies as well as expands the vision of the document it represents.”

Borrowing from history and religion

The Bull Seal, excavated from the Indus Valley region, is the first pictorial representation in the Constitution, appearing in ‘Part I: The Union and its Territory’. ‘Part II: Citizenship’ features a hermitage scene with male ascetic figures offering prayers in a meditative environment. In another scene of hermitage that appears in Part V, Buddha is the central figure, surrounded by disciples, animals, and birds in a serene setting.

The Bull Seal, excavated from the Indus Valley region, is the first pictorial representation in the Constitution. (Photo courtesy: DAG)

Out of the select representations in colour is an image in Part VI of Mahavir, the 24th Jain Tirthankara, seated crossed-legged in meditation.

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In Part XIII, we see sculptures from Mahabalipuram and the descent of Ganga to Earth.

Part IV on Directive Principles of State Policy begins with a scene from the Mahabharata, with the discussion between Arjun and Krishna before the onset of the war. For Part III on Fundamental Rights, the artists turned to the Ramayana, drawing a sketch of Ram, Lakshman and Sita returning home after the battle in Lanka.

India’s monarchs

While Emperor Ashoka is seen seated on an elephant, propagating Buddhism, in Part VII of the Constitution, Part IX has a scene from King Vikramaditya’s court with musicians and dancers, representing him as a patron of art.

The only female figure illustrated prominently in the Constitution, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, is sketched in her armour as she shares the page with Tipu Sultan, the king of Mysore, in Part XVI of the Constitution. Chhatrapati Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh are featured in Part XV.

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“Portraits of Rana Pratap and Ranjit Singh were also meant to be there but were not included probably due to space constraints,” Siva Kumar said.

The country’s freedom struggle

Gandhi appears twice, leading the Dandi March and visiting riot-hit Noakhali in Bangladesh. He is being welcomed by women with an aarti thali and Muslim peasants wearing kufi caps.

The borders of Netaji’s picture recall his message to Mahatma Gandhi on the Azad Hind Radio in 1944: “Father of our Nation, in this holy war for India’s liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes.” (Photo courtesy: DAG)

In Part XIX, Subhas Chandra Bose is seen against a mountainous backdrop, saluting the flag, with members of Azad Hind Fauj marching ahead.

Nehru was also supposed to be included, but was eventually omitted.

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Siva Kumar said three landscapes in the Constitution are a homage to Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and the National Anthem he composed, which also celebrates the diverse geographical landscapes of India.

This is an updated version of an explainer published in January 2024