Parliament, Indian: Attacks on, 2001 onwards
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
History
From the East India Company to 2023
Chakshu Roy, Dec 14, 2023: The Times of India
The inviolability of legislatures is at the heart of democracy. Yesterday, two irresponsible citizens broke this basic tenet. They opened a smoke canister and jumped from the public viewing gallery inside the Lok Sabha chamber.
A solemn day | The House was in session, and zero hour was underway. MPs were drawing the government’s and their colleagues’ attention to issues that were either of national interest or of concern for their constituents. Earlier in the day, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members had paid tributes to the security staff who had sacrificed their lives defending our Parliament from a terrorist attack in 2001.
Not always open House | Legislatures were not always public spaces. When the East India Company was operating in India, its governor had absolute authority in the administration of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. Guiding him was a council of the Company’s senior officers. This council met in rooms called council chambers. These were the first legislative chambers open only to the Company’s officers.
Plunder in Company’s ‘Parliament’ | The lack of openness in the functioning allowed these company men to accumulate a fortune. Elihu Yale, a Welsh merchant who became governor of Madras, enriched himself enough to become a philanthropist. His donation of books and materials led to Yale College bearing his name. Another Madras governor, Thomas Pitt, got his hands on the largest diamond of its time.
Under the Raj | The decline of the Company led to the British government getting directly involved in India’s affairs. A single legislative council for all British territories in India was set up. This body would meet in the Council Chamber in the Government House (now Raj Bhavan) in Calcutta. From 1860 onwards, this legislative chamber opened its meetings to the public and the press. In 1883, there was such public interest in a piece of legislation (Ilbert Bill) that the legislative council meeting was shifted to the hall outside the chamber.
Freedom fighters’ protest | Open House gave freedom fighters another venue to protest against British Rule. In 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two bombs in the Lok Sabha chamber in the old Parliament building. They were protesting against the British administration’s repressive Public Safety Bill (which gave the government power to detain suspects without trial).
Security kicks in | After this incident, and without consulting the President of the Central Legislative Assembly, Vithalbhai Patel, the Raj imposed security arrangements. Patel believed that all changes in the House should happen with the approval of the presiding officer. He stopped access to public galleries. The deadlock and subsequent conversations led to the Watch and Ward service, which later became the Parliament Security Service.
Open to India | Over the post-Independence years, our legislatures have been open to the public. Access to these galleries has brought the legislative institution closer to the people. The fundamental premise is that legislatures are people’s institutions, and transparency in their functioning strengthens trust in them.
Only one secret meeting | There are procedural mechanisms for legislatures to meet secretly. But Parliament has never utilised those. The only instance of a legislature meeting in secret was in 2007. That year, the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha met in secret to allow its members to speak openly about leftwing extremism.
Houses of other democracies | Some countries have gone to great lengths to bring people closer to their legislature. For example, the Canadian Parliament opens its lawns to the public so that they can perform Yoga in the summer. The dome of the German Bundestag is made of glass so that visitors to the building can peer from above and see the legislature in action.
Unruly visitors | But public access has also meant that there have been stray instances of visitors to public galleries throwing pamphlets or jumping into the legislative chamber. The House’s privileges committee usually handles such incidents. But let’s not forget this: By obstructing the deliberation of our national legislature such incidents strike at the fundamentals of our parliamentary democracy and deserve our condemnation.
But don’t shut out people | Yesterday’s incident would lead to the inevitable enhancement of security in the new Parliament building. But it should not mean limiting public access. In fact, the breach should catalyse our parliamentarians to further enhance the institution’s prestige. Our MPs should rededicate themselves to deliberations and debate so that people recognise Parliament’s criticality.
2001: A backgrounder
Dec 14, 2022: The Times of India
On December 13, 2001, terror came knocking at India’s temple of democracy as five terrorists launched an audacious attack on Parliament House in New Delhi.
On that fateful day, both Houses of Parliament had been adjourned 40 minutes before the attack, but several Union ministers, including home minister LK Advani, and more than 100 Members of Parliament (MPs) were still inside the building.
The attack happened just as MPs were preparing to leave the House after an uproar by Opposition members over the coffin scam had stalled proceedings.
Five terrorists breached the massive security cordon in Parliament House at around 11.40am, firing from AK-47 rifles and hurling grenades.
