Spread across 167 sittings and filling 6,377 pages, the Constituent Assembly Debates form the intellectual bedrock of India’s Constitution, revealing both the broad consensus and the ideological tensions that shaped the Republic.
Published Nov 26, 2025 | 3:00 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 26, 2025 | 3:00 PM
Constituent Assembly of India.
Synopsis: The Kerala Legislative Assembly has began a full-scale translation of the entire 12-volume Constituent Assembly Debates into Malayalam to give wider access to the ideas and conflicts that shaped India’s Constitution. More than a hundred translators and experts are working to preserve tone, context and precision. The project aims to break language barriers and make these foundational debates accessible to all citizens.
As India prepares to mark Constitution Day on 26 November, celebrating the day the Constituent Assembly adopted the nation’s guiding charter in 1949, Kerala has taken on an ambitious and unusual task.
The State Legislative Assembly has begun a full-scale translation of the entire 12-volume Constituent Assembly Debates into Malayalam, offering local readers direct access to the ideas and anxieties that shaped the Republic.
The project comes as the country observes 75 years since the Constitution came into force.
The Assembly Secretariat says the motivation is clear. “If the Constitution was shaped through lengthy discussions and fiery debates, then understanding these arguments should be accessible to every citizen.” Translating them into Malayalam, it explains, “is not merely a linguistic exercise but a democratic imperative.”
The original debates, spread across 167 sittings and filling 6,377 pages, form the intellectual bedrock of India’s Constitution, revealing both the broad consensus and the ideological tensions that shaped the Republic.
They represented an ambitious effort to design governance and federalism for a new nation, even as they laid bare the conflicts and compromises of the era.
Although voices from marginalised groups did find space, key provisions ranging from fundamental rights and Directive Principles to affirmative action were ultimately moulded by pragmatic choices of an elite leadership rather than by radical departures.
The translation aims to remove language barriers that prevent the public, students, researchers and public workers from understanding the ideas, conflicts, compromises and visions that shaped the world’s largest written Constitution.
The first volume, released in June, captures 21 days of debates from the initial three sessions of the Constituent Assembly, from 9 December 1946 to 2 May 1947, a period when foundational questions of nationhood, federalism, rights and identity were hotly contested.
Malayalam translation of the Constituent Assembly Debates
The remaining 11 volumes will follow a planned schedule.
The translation effort, complex and massive, has brought together serving and retired officials of the Legislative Secretariat and Law Department, expert translators from across Kerala, and an editorial board of constitutional scholars, linguists and legal experts.
Dr NK Jayakumar, Chairperson of the Malayalam Translation Expert Committee for the Constituent Assembly Debates, summed up the task before them in one line: “The challenge was big.”
According to him, the team had to ensure that the essence of every speech—nothing more, nothing less—was preserved.
“Some speeches were delivered with great fervour, others were emotionally charged, and many were filled with expressions that are now archaic,” he told South First.
“On top of that, there were colonial-era usages and legal terms that demanded precision. We also had to remember that most members of the Assembly were seasoned politicians with strong legal acumen. Their speeches carried the socio-political and economic contexts of that era. The translators had to hold all of this in mind; otherwise, the essence would easily get lost.”
There were several instances, he said, where the team had to rework entire portions of the translation to ensure accuracy and fidelity.
Kerala had a notable role in the Constituent Assembly, with 17 Malayalis, including three women, contributing to the discussions that shaped the nation.
Dr Jayakumar recalled that when the idea of translating the debates into Malayalam was first floated, many doubted it would ever materialise.
Volume – 1
“When the first volume came out, some felt that would be the only one. But now the second volume is ready for release, and the remaining volumes will follow. The preliminary work for publishing the entire debate is already complete,” he said.
He emphasised that no compromises were made during the process.
“We focused on the quality of the work. Our intention was never to somehow rush out a landmark translation. This had to stand the test of time,” he remarked.
The debates, he pointed out, contain statements that can be fully understood only by those familiar with the historical context of the period.
“There are phrases and concepts that are extremely difficult to translate into Malayalam. In such cases, we either reproduced the original English text or added detailed footnotes,” he said.
The aim behind the massive project, he said, is simple: to reach more people. “We have not targeted any specific group. This is for everyone.”
“Each word was chosen with utmost caution and care. What we have produced is an authentic translation, and we stand by that,” Dr Jayakumar added. “So far, the response has been very positive, and we remain open to criticism as well.”
Jyothi L, Joint Secretary of the Legislature Secretariat and the officer in charge of the translation section of the Constituent Assembly Debates, said the work currently underway in the Assembly complex is “far more than a routine translation exercise”.
According to her, around 100 to 120 personnel are part of the gigantic project—translators, verifiers and subject experts—working through a three-tier system that starts with the first-level translation, moves to verification, and concludes with a meticulous scrutiny stage.
But even this robust structure was tested when the first volume came up before the expert committee.
“What we found was that some statements had lost their intensity when translated,” she said. “Many members’ speeches were steeped in historical and colonial-era language. Even a missing comma or full stop could change the meaning entirely,” she said.
Some of the Keralites in the Constituent Assembly
The first volume thus required extensive reworking.
“It is not like translating any other document. These are speeches,” Jyothi emphasised. “We have to understand the tone, the emotion, the historical context.”
This complexity meant the first volume alone took nearly two years, as multiple portions had to be revisited whenever the meaning or emotional resonance strayed from the original English.
“But we recognised the shortcomings and corrected them. Now the process is moving smoothly, though the challenge remains,” she said.
The work is also not limited to mere translation.
“We are preparing a reference book,” she said, highlighting the inclusion of annexures and footnotes wherever necessary for clarity and context.
The translation of the third volume is almost complete, while work on the fourth and fifth volumes is already halfway through.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
