The Indian Parliament: A Democracy at WorkThe Parliament is the visible face of democracy in India. It is the epicentre of political life, public institutions of great verve, and a regime of Rights. In a first-of-its-kind study, this book delves into the lived experience of the Indian Parliament by focusing on three distinct phases—the 1950s, the 1970s, and the 1990s and beyond. The authors argue against the widely held notion of its ongoing decline, and demonstrate how it has repeatedly, and successfully, responded to India's changing needs in six decades of existence. This comprehensive and authoritative study examines the changing social composition and differing modes of representation that make up the Lok Sabha and critically explores its relation with the Rajya Sabha. Developments in the institutional complex of the Parliament, including the functioning of the Opposition and the Speaker are traced over time, along with the processes of legislation and accountability. Major debates in the House are scrutinized, and much of the analysis is based on empirical data gathered from surveys circulated among prominent politicians and public intellectuals. It also addresses the intricate issue of relations between the Judiciary and the Parliament. In its in-depth focus on the Lok Sabha, the volume highlights the way the Parliament has come to encompass India's proverbial diversity. It especially demonstrates the route this institution has taken to engage with fractious issues of diverging linguistic and regional demands. |
Contents
Making of the Indian Parliament | |
Changing Social Composition of the Lok Sabha | |
Issues Concerns | |
Institutions | |
Shift from English | |
From National Identity to Plural Identities | |
ParliamentJudiciary Relationship | |
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha | |
InHouse Reproduction of the Lok Sabha | |
The Parliament and Democracy in India | |
Other editions - View all
The Indian Parliament: A Democracy at Work B. L. Shankar,Valerian Rodrigues No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
14th Lok Sabhas Ambedkar amendment argued argument Article Arun Shourie assertions Backward Classes Bharatiya Bill Bombay cent central Chatterjee civil society coalition Committee Communist concerns Congress Party Constituent Assembly Constitution context cultural Dalits debate decline Delhi democratic diversity dominance electoral Emergency English Executive federal felt Gandhi groups Gujarat highlighted Hindi Hindu Hindutva House Ibid identity important India New Delhi Indian Parliament interests issue Janata Party judgement judicial Judiciary large number leaders legislative Legislature linguistic Maharashtra majority minorities Muslims national unity Nehru number of members OBCs opposition Oxford University Press Parliamentary democracy Parliamentary system political parties Pradesh Presidential system Prime Minister provisions public institutions public intellectuals Rajya Sabha regard regional languages representation representatives reservation responsibility role ruling party Sangh SCs and STs seats significant Singh social Somnath Chatterjee Speaker stance Supreme Court Table upper castes vote