– Pro. Sanjay Dwivedi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly constructed building of Parliament on 28 May. Parliament in India is called the temple of democracy. Parliament has the same place in a democracy as God has in Indian culture. The makers of our constitution had also said that in a democracy, the central point of every thought is the Parliament and it has an important role in nation building. On August 5, 2019, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had urged the government to construct a new building for the Parliament. After this, on December 10, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building. The newly constructed Parliament building has been constructed in record time with quality. Seating arrangements have been made for 1272 MPs in the four-storey Parliament House. In the present building of the Parliament, there is a provision of meeting 550 in the Lok Sabha, while 250 honorable members in the Rajya Sabha. Keeping in view the future needs, arrangements have been made for a meeting of 888 members in the Lok Sabha, while 384 members in the Rajya Sabha, in the newly constructed building of the Parliament. The joint session of both the Houses will be held in the Lok Sabha Chamber only. There will also be a lounge for Members of Parliament, a library, several committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space. But it is necessary for the common citizens to understand the role of the Parliament in a democracy.
Magna Carta, composed in the 13th century, is widely discussed in the world. Some scholars also call it the foundation of democracy. But very few people know that even before the Magna Carta, the ‘Anubhava Mantapam’ of Lord Basaveshwara had come into existence in India in the 12th century itself. In the form of ‘Anubhav Mantapam’, he not only built the Lok Sansad, but also ensured its operation. Lord Basaveshwar ji had said – ‘Yi Anubhava Mantap Jan Sabha, Nadina Matthu Rashtradha Unnatige Hagu, Abhivruddhige Pokrakavagi Kelsa Madutthade!’ That is, this Anubhav Mantapam, is such a public meeting, which inspires everyone to work unitedly in the interest and progress of the state and the nation.
I think Anubhav Mantapam was a form of democracy itself. Similarly, a very historical evidence is visible in a village named Uttaramerur, 80 km from Chennai in Tamil Nadu. This village has a description of the panchayat system written in Tamil on stones in the 10th century during the Chola Empire. It describes how every village was divided into kudumbu, which we call wards today. One representative from each of these families was sent to the Mahasabha and it continues to be so even today. The Mahasabha that used to be held in this village thousand years ago is still present there.
One more thing was very important in this democratic system made one thousand years ago. It is written in stone that there was also a provision to disqualify the public representative from contesting elections. The people’s representative who does not give the details of his property, he and his close relatives will not be able to contest the elections. You think how many years ago, how closely every aspect was thought, understood and made a part of our democratic traditions at that time. Our history of democracy is visible in every corner of the country.
We are equally familiar with some ancient words, such as Sabha, Samiti, Ganapati, Ganadhipati. This vocabulary has flowed in our mind and brain for centuries. Centuries ago, republics like Shakya, Mallam and Vejji, republics like Mallak Marak and Kamboja or Kalinga in the Maurya period, all made democracy the basis of governance. In our Rigveda, composed thousands of years ago, the idea of ​​democracy was seen in the form of Samgyan i.e. group consciousness.
In the parliamentary system, continuous dialogue, agreement, cooperation, cooperation, acceptance and respect must prevail between the ruling party and the opposition. This is the specialty of democracy. In this lies the glory and dignity of parliamentary tradition. It is possible that some people may not give special importance to this by calling it pure politics, rather reject it directly, but in this era of devaluation of values, there is a great need for such politics. Only such politics has the possibility of becoming a national policy. The smooth running of the country and the system will be possible only with such politics. The politics of protest just for the sake of protest will not achieve anything for the country. If it is the responsibility of the ruling party to take the opposition along, then it is also the responsibility of the opposition to support and cooperate with the government on issues of national interest, along with vocal expression of public sentiments, to speed up the legislative and parliamentary process and functioning. Do. In a democracy, the government should play the role of a trustee and the opposition a watchdog.
India’s biggest strength is its successful multi-party parliamentary democratic system. In a vibrant, dynamic and multi-party system, there may be occasions when various institutions work in a particular way, but we have the ability to resolve any friction in the system and avoid any crisis. You see that the Parliament of India is completely different from others in its nature and tradition. Here love and discord go hand in hand.
A person who is ignorant of the customs and nature of India, seeing the heated debates happening in the Parliament, will suddenly get confused about fighting, but these discussions are living evidence of our exchange of views. There can be differences here, but no one wants to maintain the permanent knot of difference of opinion and even if the differences go to the level of opposition, but on special occasions we know how to cooperate and cooperate.
This is the Parliament in which veteran parliamentarians like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jyotirmoy Basu, Madhu Limaye, Peelu Modi, Jagjivan Ram, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, George Fernandez, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee, Sushma Swaraj have spoken for and against. By staying in, strengthened the ideal democratic tradition and protected moral values ​​and rituals. Dignity is the most valid, familiar and popular word of our tradition. We embrace our own and strangers with a free voice, not only respect different views, but live and understand different views while living in the same family, and never follow public norms by being swayed by protests. Breaking This is the practice, policy, nature and culture of the Parliament of India.
I sincerely hope that the newly constructed building of Parliament will work to further enrich India’s glorious democratic traditions and constitutional values. Along with this, this building equipped with state-of-the-art facilities will also help the members to do their work in a better way.
(The author is Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.)
Read the Latest India News Today on The Eastern Herald.
