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IS OUR INDIAN PARLIAMENT DECLINED?

Representative democracy and parliamentary institutions have endured in India for six

decades and more. It is a great tribute to their strength and resilience. To say thatParliament of India is not effective would be a gross overstatement. The Parliament and

parliamentarians has become a fashion with self-proclaimed intellectuals. This has to be

devalued because other institutions have perhaps declined more.

Parliament in our polity is the supreme representative body of the people. And, for that

very reason, public perceptions about the functioning of Parliament are very important. It

cannot be denied that during the recent decades, there has been a tremendous erosion inthe respect and esteem for parliamentary institutions and the legislators in general.

There is an overwhelming consensus, in the academia and civil society for what is called

decline of Parliament. Our founding fathers adopted for us a system of representativeparliamentary democracy. But, if the representatives of the people themselves lose the

faith of the people, there is every cause for serious concern.

Normally, in a democracy such as ours, the three branches of government have their own

defined roles. No branch can transgress its limits and take up the role of the otherbranches. This distinct demarcation of roles is known as the Theory of separation of

powers, which is strictly followed in all democratic countries.

The supreme court of India has been assigned the widest powers under the constitutionfor protection of the constitution for protection of the constitutional rights of citizens.

There is no reason why the court should not adopt the activists approach and the issuedirections to the state and union government and other governmental organization andtake the positive action with a view of enforcing fundamental rights of citizens. The

judges of the Supreme Court must not merely isolate themselves in an ivory tower and

neglect the needs and problems that plague our society.

Instead, they should understand the problem of the society and exercise judicial powers in

a fair manner so as to protect the fundamental rights of society. It is important to note,

however, that this exercise of power by the judiciary is not undertaken for vainglory butpurely in the discharge of their pious constitutional obligation. If not, a crippled judiciary

will result and bad laws will prevail thereby hampering the

An overview of developments in parliamentary institutions since the first Lok Sabha

reveals some very interesting and some disturbing facts. The number of days on which

the houses of parliament sit each year and the time that is devoted to transacting businesshas come down considerably in recent years. Even when they do meet, often little gets

done. In the face of disturbances and shouting, the Houses have to be adjourned

frequently. This is so irrespective of who is in power. This was so during the BJP-led

government and it is the same under UPA


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Parliament was conceived as the legislature or the law-making body, but of late law-

making has ceased to be even the most important of its functions either qualitatively or

quantitatively. From about 48 per cent, it has come down to occupy less than 13 per centof its time. The character of Parliament has also changed as a result of changes in

membership composition.

There were times when our parliament could legitimately boast of having some very

outstanding and accomplished parliamentarians who could do honor to any parliament in

the world. Once when a member drew the attention of Acharya Kripalani to the fact thathe was criticizing the congress Party which had attracted his wife, the quick-witted

Acharya retorted: all these years I thought Congressmen were stupid fools. I never knew

they were gangsters too who ran away with others wives. The whole house roared with

laughter.

Until 1977, i.e. for the first 30 years of Independence, the opposition while small in

number was more effective and had greater impact potential. Perhaps, it was so because

of the high quality and character of membership on both sides and largely because astable government and secure leadership could show greater magnanimity and

accommodate Opposition viewpoints without losing face. Once while rejecting anamendment moved by Rajaji, Nehru said: You see Rajaji, the majority is with me.

Rajaji retorted: Yes, Jawaharlal, the majority is with you but the logic is with me.

Nehru laughed with the House and accepted Rajajis amendment. Such gestures arehardly conceivable now.

There has been a distinct change in the content, canvas and culture of debates right from

the first Lok Sabha days. In the earlier Lok Sabhas, there was much greater emphasis ondiscussion of national and international issues. Increasingly more regional and even local

problems are coming to acquire greater relevance and importance for our members. We

are more and more looking at national problems from regional, communal, linguistic orotherwise parochial angles rather than the other way round.

There has been in recent years quite some thinking about devaluation of parliamentaryauthority, deterioration in the quality of members, poor levels of participation and the

like. Today, one notices a certain cynicism towards parliamentary institutions and normal

parliamentary processes and the parliamentarians. We have an unending debate in regard

to the falling standards in the conduct of legislators as evidenced by poor quality ofdebates, niggardly attendance in the legislatures, unruly behavior of members, scenes of

pandemonia and the like. Legislatures having members with criminal records, role of

money and muscle power in politics are the most common topics of popular discussiontoday.

Sanctity of means has lost all value, meaning and relevance. If dacoits, smugglers,gangsters and foreign agents can help put us or sustain us in power, we are prepared to

compromise with them. We do not hesitate to buy stability through corruption, bribery

distribution of spoils and yielding to the pressures and blackmail brought by partners and

supporters.


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Right or wrong, the people feel that the new attitudes of politicians in all parties are

generally selfish, power-hungry, greedy, dishonest hypocrites and power merchants forwhom the nation comes last and the welfare of the people is at the bottom of priorities.

Their only concern is to a mass wealth and somehow get to stay in power. They are so

busy in the struggle for power that they have no time or energy left for serving thepeople. The people are very sad and, and what is worse, they feel helpless. We must

deliberate on the highest priority basis why things have come to such a pass and what can

be done to restore the legislatures and legislators to their old glory and bring about arenaissance of democratic faith and parliamentary culture.

Despite the Election Commission and Supreme Court efforts, the number of crime-tainted

Members has increased. Distortions have also crept into the representative character ofParliament through the operation of the electoral system. Majority of those declared

elected happen to have secured on only minority of votes. Therefore, it seems it would be

necessary to reform the electoral system and the political party system before Parliament

can be made more effective

If parliament is to function and regain its lost luster among the people, the governmentand the opposition have to bury the hatchet of distrust. The ruling party and the

opposition benches are two sides of the democratic coin and must ensure orderly debate,

discussion and functioning. Remember, Parliamentary democracy succeeds only whenthe rules of the game are followed honestly. Basically, the opposition must have its say,

even as the government has its way. Else, it will lose its credibility and prestige. Worse,

become redundant and irrelevant.

Ironically, even as Parliament declined, it was a win-win session for our MPs. Who

earned hefty salaries, perks and innumerable benefits including free lunches in the

historic central hall, Indias most exclusive club, for shouting and playing truant.Normally, they should have been held accountable for their actions, as during the Nehru

era. But no one seems to care anymore beyond shedding crocodile tears and indulging in

boring rhetoric, as witnessed once more when the President presents Best Parliamentaryawards to the so called MPs.

Clearly, it is time to give serious thought to rectifying the flaws in our system and

urgently overhauling. If necessary, rules should be drastically changed to put parliamentback on the rails. Indira Gandhi once wisely said: Parliament is a bulwark of

democracyIt has also a very heavy task of keeping an image that will gain it the faith

and respect of the people. Because, if that is lost, then I dont know what could happenlater. Time to heed her words and stop the drift towards disaster.


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History of Islam in India

Muhammad bin Tughlaq Maniacal Genius

byDr. Neria H. Hebbar

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq was the first of the Tughlaqs to rule Delhi. His folly was the

construction of the city of Tughlaqabad in a desolate area south of the capital where

even the modern sprawl of Delhi has been unable to settle. Spreading over six square

kilometers, the city of his dreams remains a wasteland with howling jackals at nighton a wind swept arid land.

As soon as he assumed the throne in Delhi he kept himself busy with consolidating

his power. He sent his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq to Deccan to subdue the

Kakatiyas of Warangal while he went to Bengal and Bihar to quell resurgence of

Hindu rebellion. He ran into a religious stalemate with a Sufi saint and mystic by

name Shaikh Nizam-ud-din Auliya. The Sufi objected to the religious laxity of the

sultan and ran afoul with him. The Sufi was said to have cursed Tughlaqabad to

eternal desolation that holds true even today.

After his triumph in Bengal he ordered his son Muhammad to construct a wooden

pavilion for the celebration of reunion with father and son in Tughlaqabad. The Sufi,

however, predicted that the sultan would find Delhi a distant town (Abhi Dilli Door

Hai). The history is murky after this event. It is recorded that following the dinner,

with son and father participating, a bolt of lightening struck the wooden pavilion to

electrocute the father. Another version is that the son, Muhammad, ordered stamping

of several elephants in the vicinity of the pavilion (called Afghanpur pavilion) thatmade the whole structure fall on the sultan, crushing him to death. Given the history
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Administration of Akbar / Mughuls Administration

The administrative machinery of the Mughuls, which functioned throughout theMughuls rule, was introduced by Akbar and that is why, by Mughul Administration,we mean Akbars Administration. Akbar was not only a brave soldier, a successfulleader and a great religious reformer but also a great administrator. He introducedvarious reforms in all the branches of the administration, whether central, provincial,revenue, military or judicial.

Central Administration: Akbar was the overall in-charge of the centralgovernment. All the executive, judicial and legislative powers of the state werecombined in him. There were no limitations on his despotism and his word was law.But Akbar had always the welfare of his people in his mind and so his was abenevolent despotism. He himself supervised all the branches of his administrationand worked hard to discharge his manifold duties. He would hold an open court,

listen to the complaints of his subjects and try to pacify them.

Akbar was, however, assisted by a number of ministers in the administration. Amongothers, the most important ministers were the Vakil, who maintained a generalcontrol over all the central departments and acted as the chief adviser of the King;Diwan, who was in-charge of finance and revenue; Mir Bakshi, who maintained therecords of all the Mansabdars and distributed pay among the high officials; Sadar-i-Sadur, who acted as a religious adviser to the king, disbursed royal charity anddischarged the function of the Chief Justice of the empire. Beside these fourministers, there were other ministers of lower rank- Khan-i-Saman, who was in-charge of the royal household; Muhtasib, who saw that the people (Muslims) led ahighly moral life according to the Muslim law; and Daroga-i-Dak Chowki, an officerwho was in-charge of the postal and intelligence department.

Provincial Administration: Akbar divided his vast empire into fifteen (15) Subas orprovinces. In each suba or province there was a Subedar, a Diwan, a Bakshi, a Sadar,a Qazi, a Kotwal, a Mir Bahrand Waqa-i-Nawis.

The Subedaror Governor was the head of the provincial administration. He enjoyedvast powers and was in-charge of the provincial military, police, judiciary and theexecutive. The (provincial) Diwan was in-charge of the provincial finance and all billsof payments were signed by him. The Bakshi looked after the management of theprovincial army. The Sadarwas in-charge of the judicial charity department. The Qazi


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was in-charge of the judicial department of his province. He supervised the work ofQazis in the districts and towns. The Kotwal was the supreme administrator of all thethanasof the province and was responsible for the maintenance of law and order inall the cities. The Mir Bahrwas in-charge of customs and taxation department. TheWaqa-i-Nawis was in-charge of the secret service of the province.

The provinces were further divided into Sarkars and Sarkars into Parganas. The headof the Sarkarwas Faujdarwho kept his own small force and maintained law and orderin his area. He was assisted by a number of other officials who collected the revenue,maintained the accounts and deposited the money into the state treasury. The headof the Parganas was called Shikdarwhose functions were the same as those of theFaujdarin a Sarkar. Each Pargana comprised several villages. Each village was underthe charge of a Muqaddam, a Patwari and a Chowkidarwho carried on the work ofadministration with the help of the villagepanchayat.

Military Administration: Akbar paid much attention towards the organization,equipment and discipline of the army. For efficient military administration heintroduced a new system known as the Mansabdari System. The Mansabdars had tomaintain soldiers according to his grade or rank. There were thirty three grades ofthese Mansabdars who maintained soldiers ranging from 10 to 10,000. They werepaid salaries in cash and the system of assignments of lands was discouraged. Theywere directly under the charge of the emperor and were promoted, degrade ordismissed at his will. He also revived the practice of taking the descriptive rolls of thesoldiers and branding the horses.

A large number of troops were, no doubt, supplied by these Mansabdars but Akbarhad maintained a standing army of his own. The Mughul army consisted of infantry,cavalry, artillery, elephants, and navy. The cavalry was the most important wing ofthe army and special attention was paid towards its organization and equipment.

The military organization of Akbar had no doubt certain defects (e.g., TheMansabdars cheated the government, the soldiers were more loyal to the chiefs thanto the emperor, the practice of payment through the Mansabdars was precarious and

often led to abuses, efficiency of one unit to unit, etc.) but still under Akbar it workedwell because of his uncommon ability as a leader and an administrator, greatvigilance and discipline.

Land Revenue Administration: Land Revenue was the chief sources of income ofthe Government. So, Akbar paid special attention towards the organization of theland revenue administration. With the help of his Diwan (Revenue Minister), Raja

Todar Mal, Akbar introduced many reforms in his revenue department. First of all, theland was measured into bighas, secondly, all the cultivated land was classified intofour divisions Polaj, Parauti, Chacharand Banjar. The Polaj land was alwayscultivated and was never allowed to fallow; the Parauti land was allowed to fallow fora year or two to recover its strength; the Chacharland had to be left uncultivated forthree or four years and Banjarland had to be left fallow for five years or more.

Thirdly, the total produce of each land was determined separately. Fourthly, theshare of the state was fixed at one-third of the total produce. Land revenue was paidin cash or in kind, but cash payment was preferred. Loans with small interest wereadvanced to the cultivators. In case of famine, drought or another unexpectedcalamity, remission was granted and even loans were advanced for purchase ofseeds and animals. The revenue collectors were asked to be friendly towards thecultivators and not to oppress them on every account. As a result of these measuresthe revenue of the state greatly increased, the cultivators became better off and the


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country became prosperous. The abundance of food also made the life of thecommon man better and happier than before.

Judicial Administration or Judicial Reforms: Akbar introduced various reforms inthe administration of justice. Before him almost all the cases were decided accordingto the Islamic law. But now, for the first time, Hindu law was administered in deciding

the cases where the parties Hindus, but Islamic law continued to function where theparties involved were Muslims. The king was the highest court of appeal. Capitalpunishment was given only in extreme cases and that too by the emperor alone.

Social Reforms: Akbar had the welfare of his people always in his mind. He hadtaken several measures to improve the general condition of his subjects. In 1563, thePilgrim Tax, which was a great burden on the Hindus, was abolished. In 1564,Jaziya,a tax which was imposed on non-Muslims, was also abolished. Akbar tried to stop thepractice of Sati. Child marriage was discouraged and female-infanticide wasforbidden. Widow-marriage was encouraged.

From the above account it is quite clear that Akbar was a great administrator and theadministrative machinery that he set up continued to function throughout the Mughulperiod.


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BIO DATA

NAME: SANDEEP

FATHERS NAME: Chikkanna

MOTHERS NAME: Hanumakka

QUALIFICATIONS: M A, PhD.

OCCUPATION: Lecturer, Seshadripuram Law College, Bangalore.

DATE OF BIRTH: 06/11/1983

TIME: About 2 15am to 2 30am(2nd Sunday of karthika)

PERMANENT ADDRESS: Channasagara, Kodagadala post, Madhugiri Taluq,

Tumkur Dist.

CONTACT NUMBER: 9341976952

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