The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive
In the last chapter, you elected your representatives. But what happens after the election? Where do those MPs go, who actually runs the country, and who makes the laws that shape your daily life? This chapter answers those questions by explaining India’s parliamentary system of government. We learn what makes a system “parliamentary”, the Executive is drawn from, and answerable to, the Legislature, and then explore the structure of Parliament (President, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha). We see what the Legislature does (above all, make laws), what the Executive does (carry them out), and exactly how a bill becomes a law. We look at the clever tools, like Question Hour, that let Parliament hold the government accountable, and finally see how the same system works in the states. By the end, you will understand the living machinery of Indian democracy, and why it is designed so that no one holds unchecked power.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- explain what a parliamentary system is, and how the Executive is drawn from and answerable to the Legislature;
- describe the structure of Parliament, the President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (a bicameral legislature);
- distinguish the roles of the Legislature (making laws) and the Executive (implementing them);
- outline how a bill becomes a law, and how Parliament controls government finances;
- explain how Parliament holds the government accountable (Question Hour, debates, committees), and how government works in the states.