The decline of India's parliament

Bibliographic Data

ID6292243
AuthorsArthur G Rubinoff (University of Toronto, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume4
Issue4
Pages13-33
Publication date1998-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Legislative Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1357-2334 • E-ISSN: 1743-9337
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13572339808420571
OpenAlexW2025542662
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited25

After first examining the country's political system in the context of its diverse culture, this article analyses the 50‐year evolution of the Indian Parliament. India's founders saw parliament as an institution that would provide social and political unity. They adopted a first‐past‐the‐post electoral system which enabled the Congress Party to dominate legislative politics for three decades. The overlapping nature of the ruling party and the government caused parliament to serve primarily as a public forum for the ventilation of grievances rather than a law‐making body. Ironically, its role was greatest under the charismatic Jawaharlal Nehru. His successors have shown disdain for the institution as a check on the executive. The fragmentation that followed the decline of the Congress has not rejuvenated the country's legislature. While parliament has become more representative, it has declined in status and effectiveness. Subject‐based standing committees have been created in an attempt to revitalise the institution. While it continues to be a 'reactive legislature', parliament's role in India's political system is more marginal than it was in the country's early years

Charisma · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Government (linguistics · House of Commons · Institution · Legislative assembly · Legislature · Parliament · Political economy · Political science · Political system · Politics · Sociology · History · Law · Public Administration · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies