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NAME:-
ROLL NO.:-
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TOPIC
History of Indian
Parliament House
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INTRODUCTION
Situated toward the finishing line of the Sansad Marg, the Parliament House or Sansad Bhavan is
a standout amongst the greatest structures in New Delhi. The Parliament House includes a central
corridor which is round fit as a fiddle and is viewed as essential piece of the working since this is
where the Indian Constitution was drafted. There untruths a garden in the middle of three
chambers. This as well as Parliament House likewise has the offices for the settlement for the
ministers, the imperative officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Chairman and
Parliamentary Committees.
With the point of instructing individuals on Democratic Heritage of India, The Parliament House
likewise houses an exhibition hall which goes back to 2500 back and is set up in an exceptionally
fascinating manner and is made finished with light recordings and sounds, huge intuitive PC
screens and others. Developed in the Imperial Style, the Parliament House comprises of an open
verandah with around 144 sections
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Indian Parliament House – History and Facts
1. Conception and Construction
Designed by: British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
Construction started: 1921
Completed: 1927
Inaugurated by: Lord Irwin (the then Viceroy of India) on 18 January 1927.
Original purpose: Served as the Council House during British rule, where the
Imperial Legislative Council met.
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2. Architecture
Shape: Circular structure inspired by the Ashoka Chakra and Buddhist stupas.
Diameter: 560 feet
Central hall: Dome is 98 feet high.
Style: Blend of classical Western and Indian architectural styles, including
Jali (lattice work) and chhatris (dome-like pavilions).
Materials used: Sandstone, mainly sourced from Dholpur.
The foundation stone of the building was done on February 12, 1921 by the Duke of Connaught.
It took a long time for six years to complete this great work. It was inaugurated by the then
Viceroy Lord Edwin Lutyens on 18 January 1927. The total cost of construction of the entire
building was Rs. 83 lakhs.
The architectural model of Parliament is amazing. The famous architect Lutyens designed the
building. The construction work was completed in the inspection of Sir Herbert Baker. Made of
pillars and spherical reinforces, it offers a wonderful sample of Portuguese architecture. Due to
circular corridors, it was initially called circular house. There is a clear vision of Indian style in
building the Parliament House. Like ancient Indian monuments, balconies have been used on
walls and windows.
Built in spherical frequency, the diameter of the Parliament building is 170.69 meters, and its
circumference is more than half a kilometer (536.33 meters), which is located on an area of about
six acres (24281.16 square meters). Two semicircular buildings are surrounded by beautiful
domes. The building's first floor corridor hinges on 144 strong pillars. The length of each pillar is
27 feet (8.23 meters). The outer wall is geometrical and in the meantime the Mughal nets are
engaged. The building is spread over six acres and it has 12 doors, in which gate number is 1
main gate.
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3. Post-Independence Role
1947 onwards: Became the seat of the Indian Parliament — housing the Lok
Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and Central Hall (used for joint sessions and major
national addresses).
Central Hall significance: The Indian Constitution was adopted here on 26
November 1949.
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4. Important Events
1947: Indian Independence was announced inside the Central Hall.
1971: Indo-Pak war victory was celebrated in Parliament.
1991: Economic reforms initiated after a historic budget speech in the Lok
Sabha.
2001: A terrorist attack targeted Parliament on 13 December, but was thwarted.
5. New Parliament Building (2023)
Due to space constraints and structural issues, a new Parliament House was
built.
New Parliament Inaugurated: 28 May 2023 by PM Narendra Modi.
Location: Near the old Parliament House.
Features: More spacious, technologically advanced, and earthquake-resistant.
The old building is to be preserved as a museum of democracy.
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Summary Table:
Feature Detail
Built by British Government
Architects Sir Edwin Lutyens & Herbert Baker
Construction Period 1921–1927
Inauguration Date 18 January 1927
Significance Site of India’s legislative activities since independence
New Parliament Inauguration 28 May 2023
It’s where our laws are framed, the country’s future is debated, and the people’s representatives
are held accountable. It’s India’s seat of government, and it all happens right here, in this iconic,
circular edifice called Parliament House.
Yet this edifice in the heart of New Delhi was not envisaged as part of the new Delhi built by the
colonial British when they shifted the imperial capital from Calcutta to the former seat of the
Mughals and Sultans, in 1911.
The winds of change were sweeping across the subcontinent and the Government of India Act,
1919, allowed for greater participation of Indians in government. The country needed a larger
space to accommodate an expanded seat of government. The Secretariat, where the Imperial
Legislative Council convened, was no longer large enough.
Parliament House, or ‘Council House’ in pre-Independent India, was built between 1921 and
1927.
– It was designed by the same architects who had given the rest of the new imperial
capital a makeover – Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
When the new capital was planned, the mandate given to the architects was very clear. While
retaining the authoritative stamp of the colonial British, it also needed to resonate with Indians. In
architectural terms, this meant a look that blended European classicalism with a distinctly Indic
feel.
Parliament House reflects this central visual theme, as does the rest of New Delhi. Spread across
6 acres, it consists of the familiar circular structure with a colonnaded verandah with 144 pillars.
In the middle is the Central Hall, and radiating from it are three semi-circular Chambers – one for
the Lok Sabha, another for the Rajya Sabha and the third, the lesser-known Chamber of Princes.
Here are some interesting facts about the seat of government that you probably didn’t know.
Modelled on a Temple? There’s no way to be sure but some experts believe that when the iconic
building was being designed, Lutyens drew inspiration from an ancient Indian temple in Madhya
Pradesh. And, indeed, the resemblance to the 12th CE Chausath Yogini Temple in Mitaoli
village, 40 km from Gwalior, is uncanny.
A Tantric shrine located on a hilltop, the Chausath Yogini Temple is named after its ‘chausath’ or
64 niches, one each for a yogini (mother goddess). Built of stone, the shrine is circular, roofless
and pillared and looks unmistakeably like Parliament House.
According to one theory, Lutyens modelled Parliament House on this temple as circular structures
like these are able to withstand considerable seismic stress. The hilltop shrine has weathered
many earthquakes with little damage and Delhi is located in Seismic Zone IV. Besides, the design
suited the mandate to use Indic architecture in the new capital.
Two Houses, Not One: When the new capital was being designed in 1912-13, the Imperial
Legislative Council, the country’s main governing body, was to meet at Viceroy’s House (now
Rashtrapati Bhavan). In time, the Council convened in the government Secretariat building in
Delhi.
With the increasing participation of Indians in government, the Council became a bicameral
legislature in 1919; it now consisted of two Houses – the Central Legislative Assembly (precursor
to the Lok Sabha or Lower House) and the Council of States (precursor to the Rajya Sabha or
Upper House). This meant the government needed more room.
There was only one option: to renovate the Secretariat building and build a larger chamber. Thus,
in 1921, the Secretariat became the venue of the first Central Legislative Assembly.
But the seat of government needed its own premises, which brought Lutyens and Baker back to
the drawing board. While Baker came up with a triangular plan with three wings, Lutyens insisted
on a circular design. Of course, Lutyens prevailed.
Chamber of Princes: Did you know that before Independence, apart from the two Houses of
Parliament, India had a third Chamber in Parliament? It was the Chamber of Princes and its
members were Rajas, Maharajas and Princes. The Chamber, which existed from 1921 to 1947,
was a one-of-a-kind in world history as it allowed royalty a role in governance, even if only
consultative and advisory. It occupied the third of the three semi-circular chambers in Parliament
House.
There were more than 550 Princely States in India and they covered about one-third of the British
Empire in the subcontinent. The Chamber of Princes, though, represented less than half the
Princely States.
At Independence, when the Princely States merged with the rest of India, the Chamber of Princes
housed the Supreme Court of India when it was established in 1950. The court moved to its
current premises in 1958.
Sans its royal members who once met in this hallowed hall, the Chamber of Princes now serves a
less glamorous purpose – it is the Library Hall, or a reading room, for Members of Parliament.
Central Hall: The grand, domed Central Hall of Parliament is where the transfer of power took
place in 1947 and where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made his famous ‘Tryst With Destiny’
speech on the threshold of Independence, at midnight on August 14. It is also where the
Constituent Assembly met and framed the Constitution of India. Joint sessions of Parliament are
now held here.
Incidentally, it was also at Parliament House that, in April 1929, revolutionaries Bhagat Singh
and Batukeshwar Dutt exploded bombs to protest British rule in India.
As part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, India is to get a new Parliament building
near the old one. Once completed, the seat of government will shift to the new venue, leaving the
original Lutyens-Baker creation open to being repurposed.
