Raipur:The original copy of the constitution was initially first wrapped in flannel cloth and kept with naphthalene balls. In the year 1994, like America, India also decided to keep the original copy of the constitution in the gas chamber prepared by scientific method in the Library of Parliament House.
A gas chamber was formed in India after an agreement between India's 'National Physical Laboratory' and the Getty Institute of America where currently the constitution has been kept safe.
Why gas chamber?
The Indian Constitution is written in black ink. The ink oxidizes quickly and to preserve it, the humidity is required to be kept around 50 grams per cubic meter. Hence the Airtight Chamber was created for the Indian Constitution.
Close monitoring
Monitors have been installed in the gas chamber to maintain humidity. Every year the gas of the chamber is emptied. This chamber is also checked every 2 months and is constantly monitored by CCTV.
Also read: Gwalior library to showcase original copy of Indian Constitution
Facts of the Indian constitution
The original copies of the Indian Constitution were written in Hindi and English. Each member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution, signed two copies of the constitution, one in Hindi and the other in English.
With so much of writing, the Indian Constitution is the longest of any sovereign country in the world. In its current form, it has a Preamble, 22 parts with 448 articles, 12 schedules, 5 appendices and 115 amendments.
Both the versions of the Constitution, Hindi and English, were handwritten. It is the longest handwritten constitution of any country on earth. It was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in a flowing italic style with beautiful calligraphy.
The Constitution was published in Dehradun and photolithographed by the Survey of India.
The original handwritten Constitution is uniquely decorated by artists from Shantiniketan including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose.
