Parliament House (India)

Sansad Bhawan
Parliament House

Parliament House, seen from Rajpath
General information
Status Functioning
Town or city New Delhi
Country  India
Coordinates 28°37′02″N 77°12′29″E / 28.617189°N 77.208084°E / 28.617189; 77.208084
Construction started 1921
Opened 1927
Owner Government of India
Design and construction
Architect Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker

The Sansad Bhawan (Parliament Building) is the house of the Parliament of India, located in New Delhi.

History

Originally called the House of Parliament, it was designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912-1913 and construction began in 1921 and ended in 1927. The opening ceremony of the Parliament House, then called the Central Legislative Assembly, was performed on 18 January 1927 by Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India. The third session of Central Legislative Assembly was held in this house on 19 January 1927.[1]

The Parliament Museum, opened in 2006, stands next to the Parliament House.

Building

The shape is circular, which is based on the Ashoka Chakra. Separate halls were constructed for the sessions of the Chamber of Princes, the State Council, and the Central Legislative Assembly. Members of parliament The building is surrounded by large gardens and the perimeter is fenced off by sandstone railings (jali) modeled after the Great Stupa of Sanchi.

Proposal for a new building

A new Parliament building may replace the existing complex. The new building is being considered on account of the stability concerns regarding the current complex.[2] A committee to suggest few alternatives to the current building has been set up by the ex-Speaker, Meira Kumar. The present building, an 85-year-old structure suffers from inadequacy of space to house members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to be protected because of its heritage tag.[3]

2001 Parliament attack

On 13 December 2001, the building of the Parliament was attacked by five Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. In addition to all the attackers, six military personnel and one civilian were killed.[4]

See also

References

  1. "History of the Parliament of Delhi". delhiassembly.nic.in. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  2. "Delhi may see a new Parliament building". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  3. Firstpost (2012-07-13). "Speaker sets up panel to suggest new home for Parliament". Firstpost. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  4. "Terrorists attack Parliament; five intruders, six cops killed". rediff.com. 13 December 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.

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