6.1 What Is a Parliamentary System

A Question to Begin When India became independent in 1947, its people gained the right to govern themselves. But “self-government” is not automatic, someone has to design how the country will be run: who makes the laws, who carries them out, and how to stop any person or group from grabbing too much power. The makers of the Constitution (1950) chose a particular design, the parliamentary system. What is it, and why was it chosen?

The three branches of government

Every modern government does three different kinds of work, and these are handled by three branches.

The Three Organs of Government

• The Legislature makes the laws (in India, this is Parliament).
• The Executive carries out the laws and runs the country day to day (the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers).
• The Judiciary interprets the laws and settles disputes (the courts).

This chapter focuses on the first two, the Legislature and the Executive, and on the special relationship between them that defines a parliamentary system.

What makes it “parliamentary”

The Defining Feature A parliamentary system is a form of government in which the Executive is drawn from the Legislature and is accountable to it. In other words, the people who run the country (the Prime Minister and ministers) are themselves elected members of Parliament, and they can stay in power only as long as they keep the support (confidence) of the legislature. If Parliament withdraws its support, the government must resign.

This is the heart of the system. The Executive is not separate from the Legislature, it grows out of it and answers to it. This keeps the government continuously accountable to the people’s elected representatives.

Why India chose this system

India had become familiar with parliamentary institutions during the freedom struggle and under the British, and its makers of the Constitution judged it well-suited to a large, diverse democracy. Its great strength is accountability: because the government must keep Parliament’s confidence and answer its questions every day it sits, it cannot ignore the people’s representatives.

Built on Universal Adult Franchise The whole system rests on the foundation you studied in the last chapter, universal adult franchise. The people elect the Lok Sabha; from the elected members comes the government; and that government must answer to the elected house. Power flows from the people, to Parliament, to the government, and accountability flows back the other way.

Think About It In a parliamentary system, the government can be removed by Parliament at any time if it loses support. How does this constant possibility keep a government careful and responsive? Compare it with a leader who, once elected, could not be removed for a fixed number of years.

Let’s Explore In your own words, complete this sentence three ways: “A parliamentary system means the Executive is , , and ___ the Legislature.” (Hint: drawn from / accountable to / dependent on the support of.)

Now that we know what a parliamentary system is, let us look at the body at its centre, Parliament itself, and how it is structured.