One of 1,000 photolithographic reproductions of the Constitution of the Republic of India, original of which is kept in a special nitrogen-filled hermetically sealed case in the Library of the Parliament of India. The illustrations represent styles from different civilizations of the subcontinent, ranging from the prehistoric Mohenjodaro, in the Indus Valley, to the present. The calligraphy in the book was done by Prem Behari Narain Raizada, using a holder and nib (No. 303 nib). It was illuminated by Nandalal Bose, known as the artist laureate of India, and his students, from Kala Bhavan (Institute of Fine Arts), Visvabharati University, including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha (credited, among other items, for the Preamble page), Dinanath Bhargava (credited for the emblem of India), Kripal Singh Shekhawat, A. Perumal, Vinayak Sivram Masoji and other artists, which included Bose's three children: Biswarup Bose (and his wife Nibedita), Gauri Bhanja (and her daughter, Bani Patel) and Jamuna Sen. Amala Bose, later wife of ABP Group chairman Kanailal Sarkar, Jagdish Mittal(1), Rajniti Singh (2) and Dhirendra Krishna Deb Barman were also in the team of illustrators. The illustrations were done in indigenous methods, using gold-leaf and stone colors. The name of the calligrapher is signed as Prem at bottom left of the text window on each page; the name of the illustrator is signed at bottom left of each illustrated page frame. Pictures are separately signed. The manuscript was written on microbe-resistant parchment sheets measuring 45.7 cm × 58.4 cm with a shelf life of a thousand years. The finished manuscript consisted of 234 pages and weighed ~13 kg. This manuscript was signed by the members of the Constituent Assembly on 24th January 1950. The glass cases for preservation of the English and Hindi manuscripts in the Parliament library were developed jointly by National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi and Getty Conservation Institute, USA, and installed in March 1994.
Illuminated by Shri Nandalal Bose and other artists of Santiniketan, Viswabharati.
Photolithographed at the Survey of India Offices,
Hathibarkala, Dehra Dun.
List of Illustrations
1Mohenjodaro Period
Decoration with Mohenjodaro seals.
1
2Vedic Period
Scene from Vedic Asram (Gurukul).
3
3Epic Period
Scene from the Ramayana (Conquest of Lanka and recovery of Sita by Rama).
6
4Epic Perioddo
Scene from the Mahabharata (Srikrishna propounding Gita to Arjuna).
17
5Mahanjanapada and Nanda Period
Scene from Buddha's life.
20
6Mahanjanapada anddo
Scene from Mahavir's life.
63
7Mauryan Period
Scene depicting the spread of Buddhism by Emperor Asoka in India and abroad.
98
8Gupta Period
Scene from Gupta Art. It's development in different phases.
102
9Gupta Perioddo
Scene from Vikramaditya's Court.
104
10Gupta Perioddo
Scene depicting one of the ancient Universities (Nalanda).
105
11Medieval Period
Scene from Orissan Sculptures.
106
12Medieval Perioddo
Image of Nataraja.
113
13Medieval Perioddo
Scene from Mahabalipuram Sculptures (Bhagirath's penance and the descent of Ganga).
130
14Muslim Period
Portrait of Akbar with Mughal Architecture.
132
15Muslim Perioddo
Portraits of Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh.
141
16British Period
Portraits of Tipu Sultan and Lakshmi Bai (Rise against the British Conquest).
144
17India's Freedom Movement
Portrait of the Father of the Nation (Gandhiji's Dandi March).
149
18India's Freedomdo
Bapuji the Peace-Maker—his tour in the riot affected areas of Noakhali.
154
19Revolutionary movement for freedom
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and other patriots trying to liberate Mother India from outside India.
160
20Natural Features
Scene of the Himalayas.
167
21Natural Featuresdo
Scene of the Desert.
168
22Natural Featuresdo
Scene of the Ocean.
181
This work is the work of Government of India. Section 52(1)(q) of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 allows for the reproduction or publication of
any matter which has been published in any Official Gazette except an Act of a Legislature;
any Act of a Legislature subject to the condition that such Act is reproduced or published together with any commentary thereon or any other original matter;
the report of any committee, commission, council, board or other like body appointed by the government if such report has been laid on the Table of the Legislature, unless the reproduction or publication of such report is prohibited by the government;
any judgement or order of a court, Tribunal or other judicial authority, unless the reproduction or publication of such judgement or order is prohibited by the court, the Tribunal or other judicial authority, as the case may be.
This work is also in the public domain in the U.S. because it is an edict of a government, local or foreign. See § 313.6(C)(2) of the Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices. Such documents include "legislative enactments, judicial decisions, administrative rulings, public ordinances, or similar types of official legal materials" as well as "any translation prepared by a government employee acting within the course of his or her official duties."
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