Parliament and its two Houses

Why do we need a Parliament? The legislature is not merely a law-making body; it is the centre of democratic politics, full of debate, walkouts, protests, agreement and cooperation. It helps people hold representatives accountable, the very basis of representative democracy. In many democracies the executive has gained ground (in India, the Cabinet sets the agenda), but even strong cabinets must keep a majority in the legislature and answer to it. Parliament is the most representative organ of government and the most open forum of debate, and above all it has the power to choose and dismiss the government.

Two Houses. The national legislature is called Parliament; state legislatures are State Legislatures. India's Parliament is bicameral, with two Houses: the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). States may choose one or two Houses; at present only six states have two: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

• Large, diverse countries often prefer two Houses, to represent all sections of society and all regions.
• A second House also means every decision is considered twice: a hasty decision in one House can be reconsidered in the other.

The Rajya Sabha represents the states. It is indirectly elected: people elect their State Legislative Assembly, and the elected MLAs elect the state's Rajya Sabha members.

• Seats could be equal for every state (symmetrical representation, as in the US Senate) or by population. India chose population, fixed in the Fourth Schedule: otherwise Uttar Pradesh (population about 1,998 lakh in the book's figures) would get as many seats as Sikkim (about 6 lakh). So UP sends 31 members and Sikkim 1.
• Members serve six-year terms and may be re-elected. Every two years, one-third of members retire and elections are held for those seats only, so the Rajya Sabha is never fully dissolved: it is the permanent House, and can meet for urgent business even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved.
• The President nominates 12 members who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art and social service.

The Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies are directly elected by the people. The country is divided into territorial constituencies of roughly equal population, each electing one representative by universal adult suffrage, every vote of equal value. There are 543 constituencies, a number unchanged since the 1971 census. The Lok Sabha is elected for at most five years; it can be dissolved earlier if no party or coalition can form a government, or if the Prime Minister advises the President to dissolve it.

Example (new): a school with a student council (elected by all students) and a council of house captains (one group per house, chosen by house members) gets a second look at every decision, and gives each house a voice.