With reference to Indian parliament and state legislatures.

This book explores the development, decline and resurgence of parliaments in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although the three parliaments formally have a common origin and follow almost similar rules and procedures, substantial variations can be observed in their behavior. By analyzing the nature of memberships, processes of legislation and oversight of the executive, the book assesses the impact of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi parliaments. In addition to identifying the ways in which different institutional actors, particularly the parliament and the judiciary, define their roles and relationships, the book investigates the role of committees and the significance and effect of female legislators. While showing that the parliament in India has had a steady growth since its inception, notwithstanding the allegation that it has declined in recent years, the author also demonstrates the differential performance of the parliaments in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In particular, the parliament in Pakistan is shown to likely be able to upgrade its status from a ‘minimal’ to at least a ‘marginal’ legislature, while the Bangladesh parliament risks becoming a ‘minimal’ legislature. A valuable resource to use when comparing strategies and outcomes of postcolonial developments in the operation of parliaments, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of political and economic development, governance and South Asian Studies.

This book traces the trajectory of the Indian Parliament from its formation to present day. The essays presented here explore parliamentary democracy through the formative years and highlight the Parliament’s function as a representative and accountable institution, its procedures and responsibility, its connection with the other arms of the state, its relationship with grassroots democracy and the press, and its critical role in framing foreign policy and national security. The volume frames major debates surrounding the Parliament through historical, conceptual and contemporary political perspectives. It also looks at how politics in practice is being continuously changed and challenged by new social media and further views the transformation of India’s apex legislative institution in terms of democratizing processes, constitutional values and changing mores. The book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of Indian politics, history, comparative politics, political science and modern India.

The concept of democracy is not new to India. In fact, the substance of self-government lies embedded in its hoary past. Nearly forty-one years ago the country adopted a Constitution based on the principles of liberty, equality, fraternity and the rule of law. India opted for parliamentary form of government because it suited the genius of the people. It elected nine Parliaments on the basis of universal adult franchise and was thus able to live up to the expectations of a political awakened electorate. The image of Parliament and its credibility as a representative institution largely depends on the role and functions of its Members. The objective of the present study is, therefore, to provide an analysis of the work done by the Ninth Lok Sabha (18 December, 1989 to 13 March, 1991) in major fields during its short but eventful life span (one year two months and twenty-six days). This sought to be done by means of articles by distinguished parliamentarians and others, and statements and statistical tables supplemented by brief introductory notes. An effort has also been made to present a comparative picture of the background of Members of the earlier Lok Sabha and the work done by them. One of the noteworthy features of the Ninth Lok Sabha, which held 7 sessions consisting of 109 sittings lasting over 754 hours, was the passing of as many as 63 Bills including 7 Constitution Ammendment Bills. Two of the important Bills passed were the -Prasar Bharati- (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Bill and the -National Commission for Women’ Bill. These may well be considered as landmarks in the history of enactments made by the Parliament. The Government can take credit for answering a staggering number of 21,550 questions on diverse subjects put to it by the members of the Ninth Lok Sabha. It is hoped that the study will be helpful to researchers, parliamentarians and all those who are engaged in a study of the working of parliamentary institutions and processes and enable them to form a picture of the tasks achieved and acquaint them with the diverse activities which a modern Parliament is called upon to perform.