How many members were originally included in the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution that was chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar?

Introduction / Context:
This question is drawn from the history of the making of the Constitution of India. The Constituent Assembly set up several committees to deal with different aspects of constitution making. One of the most important among these was the Drafting Committee, chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, which prepared the actual draft text of the Constitution. Remembering the number of members in this committee is a common factual requirement in civics and polity exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The committee in question is the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly.
• It was chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar.
• Options suggest various possible sizes for the committee: seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, and five members.
• We assume standard historical accounts of the Constituent Assembly and its committees.

Concept / Approach:
The Drafting Committee was appointed on 29 August 1947 and consisted of Dr B. R. Ambedkar as Chairman along with six other members, making a total of seven. The names often noted include N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, K. M. Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, B. L. Mitter (later replaced by N. Madhava Rau) and D. P. Khaitan (later replaced by T. T. Krishnamachari). Many exam questions require you to recall this number and sometimes even the names of the members.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Identify that the question is about the Drafting Committee and not about the Constituent Assembly as a whole. 2. Recall that the Drafting Committee was chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar. 3. Remember that including the Chairperson, the committee had seven members. 4. Therefore, out of the numerical choices given, seven is the correct total strength. 5. Mark Seven as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard references on the formation of the Constitution consistently list seven members on the Drafting Committee. This figure appears in NCERT books, polity textbooks, and exam guides. The larger bodies like the Constituent Assembly itself had a much larger membership, so any number like eleven or thirteen would correspond to some other context, not the Drafting Committee. Verifying from multiple sources reinforces that seven is accurate.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Nine: There was no nine member Drafting Committee; this number is sometimes used to confuse students who recall that there were multiple important committees.
• Eleven: Does not match the documented size of the Drafting Committee.
• Thirteen: Also incorrect; some committees or commissions in other contexts had larger memberships, but not this one.
• Five: Too small and does not correspond to the historical record.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes confuse the Drafting Committee with the total number of committees or subcommittees set up by the Constituent Assembly. Another mistake is to remember that there were several prominent leaders and assume a larger number of members. A good strategy is to memorise a few core facts together: the Drafting Committee was set up on 29 August 1947, was chaired by Ambedkar, and had seven members including him.

Final Answer:
The Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, originally had seven members in total.