Below is a picture of the preamble as contained in the limited print edition of the Constitution of India, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949 and came into force on January 26, 1950. The World Digital Library states that “the original of this elaborate edition took nearly five years to produce” and “the illustrations represent styles from the different civilizations of the subcontinent, ranging from the prehistoric Mohenjodaro, in the Indus Valley, to the present.” According to a blog post on the printed edition of the Constitution, “it is the longest hand-written constitution of any independent nation of the world.”
The original of this work is held in the Parliament Library in India, but 1,000 photolithographic reproductions were made. The Law Library of Congress has one of these reproductions in our Rare Book Collection. As you can see from an interview with another owner of a copy of the Constitution, it is highly prized and cherished.
Comments (2)
As an octogenarian from India who had seen the happenings during pre and post British era, I am excited to view the original copy of Constitution of India.