My Science School

A Whip is a member of parliament who makes sure that other members of his party are present at voting time and that they vote in a certain way. The Whip ensures that members of the party are present in sufficient numbers in parliament. It is his job to make sure that they vote according to the line taken by the party on important questions. The Chief Whip of the government party is the minister of parliamentary affairs. He is answerable to the leader of the house.

 The whips of the ruling party and of the opposition keep in constant touch with each other. Whips are of three types one-line, two-line and three line whips. The number of lines indicates the importance attached to a particular measure before the house. 

Five terrorists rocked the Indian Parliament on 12th December, 2001. They rammed their vehicle into the car of Krishan Kant, the Vice President of India, who was inside the building at the time. Five policemen, a parliamentary security guard, and a gardener were killed by their firing, and eighteen others were injured. A terrorist wearing a suicide vest was shot dead as the vest exploded in gunfire. The four other gunmen were also killed.

 The attack was masterminded by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group backed by Pakistan. Two days after the attack the Indian police arrested four prime suspects: Abdul Rehman Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer, Mohammad Afzal, Shaukat Hussain Guru, and his wife Navjot Sandhu. All of them were Indians. A death sentence was handed out to the three male terrorists. Mohammed Afzal's death sentence was upheld, Geelani was acquitted, and Shaukat Hussain's death sentence was changed and reduced to ten years imprisonment.

 

 

 In Latin, 'camera' means chamber and 'bi' means two. So, a bicameral parliament has two chambers, and a unicameral parliament has only one chamber. Bicameral legislatures are common in federal systems - a system in which a group of regions is controlled by a central government. The United States is an example. Generally, bicameral legislatures require a majority from both houses to pass a law.

Unicameral legislatures are common in communist states such as China and Cuba. Many former communist states such as Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia have retained their unicameral legislatures. Others such as Russia and Poland have adopted bicameral legislatures after the fall of communism. In unicameral systems, law making is efficient, simple and cost effective. The lack of 'checks and balances' is a drawback of the bicameral system.

The Parliament of Australia is also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament. It is bicameral. The Australian Parliament has a peculiarity. The number of members in it varies. The members of the Lower House or the House of Representatives represent districts known as electoral divisions or electorates. The boundaries of the electorates are changed regularly.

 The Australian Parliament has three parts - the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. The Australian Parliament is the world's sixth oldest continuous democracy. 

The Parliament of Pakistan is officially known as Majlis-e- Shoora. Like the Indian Parliament, Pakistan's Parliament too has two houses. The upper house is known as the Senate and the lower house is known as the National Assembly. The Majlis-e-Shoora is the supreme law making body of Pakistan. 

 Religions reach out to each other in the Parliament of the World's religions. Several such meetings have been held. The most notable of them was the Parliament of the World's Religions held at Chicago in 1893. This was the first attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. History was made in September of 1893, when representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions gathered under one roof. Chicago played host to the Parliament. Sikhs were absent from the meeting. Swami Vivekananda made a stirring speech, a speech that sparked off Western interest in Indian values.

 A Parliament of world religions was held again at Chicago in 1993. Since then, a parliament has been convened every five years in a major city. The last one was held at Melbourne in 2009. 

The Maldivian Parliament met six metres under water. They wanted to raise their voice against global warming, and prevent Maldives from drowning. Maldives is a chain of 1,200 islands and coral atolls that lie off the Indian coast. Global warming will result in rising sea levels and the paradise that is Maldives could disappear under the ocean. The President, Mohamed Nasheed is determined to save his homeland. President Nasheed is a serious environmentalist, and a qualified scuba diver. 

            The judiciary in India is independent of the executive and the legislature. Judges of the Supreme Court and High Court are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, and other important judges. A judge can resign, but he cannot be impeached because impeachment is a procedure reserved only for the President. A judge can be removed from office only if a joint address is passed by both houses of parliament.

The parliament cannot discuss the decisions and conduct of a judge, except in the case of presenting a joint address for his removal. This is to make sure that judges can perform their duties without interference from the executive or the legislature. To put it very simply, the parliament and the government cannot question the decision of the judges. A judge can be removed from office because of misconduct, but while he is in office, his judgments cannot be overruled by parliament or the government. 

 Passing of bills and making of laws are the main duties of both the houses of the parliament. The union parliament- which is the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha taken together- deals mainly with transport and communications, banking, railways, foreign affairs, defence, customs, excise duties and others.

 The parliament decides on issues related to price control, social safety and security, insurance, social and economic planning, and many more. The Budget session in the parliament is one of the most important sessions because it decides the financial management policies of the country.

The parliament keeps a check on the functioning of the Council of Ministers. The members of parliament can ask questions from any minister, and the latter must reply. There are times when the conditions and situations in the country have changed. And, in such situation, the Parliament of India has the power to amend the constitution.

 

 The Lok Sabha is called the house of the people because its members are elected directly by the people. Every citizen of India who is above 18 years of age is eligible to vote. The Lok Sabha has a maximum strength of 552 members. Of these, up to 530 members represent the states, while up to 20 members represent the union territories, and not more two members of the Anglo-Indian community can be nominated by the President.

The Lok Sabha has a fixed term of five years. However, it can be dissolved earlier under certain circumstances.

The Lok Sabha elects one of its own members as its presiding officer and he is called the Speaker. He is assisted by the Deputy Speaker who is also elected by the Lok Sabha.

 It was the Indian Independence Act, 1947, that resulted in the origin and growth of the Indian legislature. The executive councils of the Governor General and the Governor in the provinces were expanded into separate sovereign legislative bodies. The act created two independent dominions known as India and Pakistan. On the midnight of 14th August, 1947, the constituent assembly was declared a fully sovereign body, and was given full legislative powers. The first sitting of the assembly was conducted on November 17th, 1947, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad presided as the chairman. The main function of the constituent assembly was to frame a constitution for independent India. The drafting committee under BR Ambedkar recommended the parliamentary type of government, which got a clear majority. On 26th January, 1950, the constitution of India came into force, and the constituent assembly became the provincial parliament of India. 

The Simon Commission, named after its Chairman Sir John Simon, was announced by the British government on 26th November, 1927, to report on India's constitutional affairs, and make recommendations on the future Constitution of India. It was boycotted wherever it went with hartals, black flags, and the slogan, "Simon, Go Back!" The report of the commission, which was published in 1930, was rejected by all political parties. 

After the Government of India Act, 1919, The Indian Legislative Council was split into a bicameral legislature consisting of a Council of State (Upper House) and a Legislative Assembly (Lower House). The Council of Sate could consist of not more than 60 members, and out of these, not more than 20 could be officials. The strength of the Legislative Assembly was fixed at 140, of which 100 were elected, 26 officials were nominated, and the rest were nominated non officials. The act gave overriding powers to the Governor General. With the freedom of speech, the members had the right to put questions to, and expose the government's activities.

The Indian Council Act 1861 came to be known as the 'prime charter of the Indian Constitution' because it made several reforms in the legislative affairs. The act established the Legislative Councils at the centre, presidencies and provinces. The Council of the Governor General was reconstituted under this Act. An assurance was given that Indians would be appointed to the Council. The Council failed to function anywhere near to a responsible or representative legislative body. However, for the first time in the history of British rule in India, the Council recognized the importance of non-officials in legislative bodies. 

 The Charter Act of 1833 gave an impetus to legislative centralization thus bringing about important changes in the system of Indian administration. A legislative council was established for all the British territories in India. The authority of the Governor General was extended, and the Governor General's government was called as the 'Government of India', for the first time, and his council as the 'India Council'. The Charter Act enlarged the executive council by the addition of a fourth member. The fourth member was given the charge of giving professional advice in matters regarding the mechanism of law making. Lord Macaulay was appointed as the first law member of the council.

The Charter Act, 1853, the last of the Charter Acts, made more important changes in the Governor General's Council. The legislative or the law member was made a full member, and had the right to vote at executive meetings of the council. The number of legislative Council members was increased by the addition of six special members known as the ‘Legislative Councilors’.

The new council was no confined to only legislation but it functioned more like 'a miniature representative assembly'.