The Constitution of India, adopted on November 26, 1949, and effective from January 26, 1950, begins with the Preamble. The Preamble, the ideological foundation of the Constitution, was debated heavily by the members of the Constituent Assembly. Maulana Hasrat Mohani suggested replacing Sovereign Democratic Republic with Sovereign Federal Republic or Sovereign Independent Republic , but his amendment was rejected. He also proposed aligning the Constitution with the pattern of Soviet Russia, which was also voted down.