G.V. Mavalankar, the first Speaker of Lok Sabha - introduced 'Question Hour'...

Also conferred by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru as the “Father of the Lok Sabha’, who introduced “Question Hour”. The discussion on 'President's Address' on a 'Motion of Thanks' was started by Speaker Mavalankar.

If anyone asks whose Speakership made its greatest impact on our parliamentary institutions, unquestionably the answer would be, Shri Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, fondly remembered as Dadasaheb Mavalankar on whom the title 'Father of the Lok?Sabha' was conferred by none other than Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. As Speaker of the First Lok Sabha of a new born nation, Mavalankar's role was not merely that of a moderator and facilitator of its proceedings but of a Statesman and a founding father invested with the responsibility to establish rules, procedures, conventions and customs that suited the ethos of the land.

Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was born on 27 November 1888?at Baroda, presently part of the State?of?Gujarat. His family originally belonged to a place called Mavalange in the Ratnagiri District of the then State of Bombay.

Entering the legal profession in 1913, Mavalankar established himself as a leading lawyer within a short time. Along with his flourishing legal practice, he took keen interest in social work which brought him in contact with eminent national leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi. Even from his early twenties, Mavalankar was associated with several major social organisations in Gujarat, either as an office bearer or as an activist. He was the Honorary Secretary of the Gujarat Education Society in 1913 as also the Secretary of the Gujarat Sabha in 1916.

A firm believer in the decentralisation of power and in the efficacy of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Mavalankar dedicated himself to the affairs of Ahmedabad Municipality for nearly two decades. From 1919 to 1937, he remained a member of the Ahmedabad Municipality. Twice during 1930-33 and 1935-36, he served as its President. Ahmedabad made tremendous progress during his stewardship. His interest in the affairs of the local self-government bodies continued throughout his life.

His success as the Speaker of the Bombay Legislative Assembly made him a natural choice of the Congress Party for the President-ship of the Sixth Central Legislative Assembly in January 1946, the nomination by the Opposition Congress Party in Itself was not enough to ensure his election in an Assembly in which the majority of members was on the Government side which had put up its own candidate. However, after a keenly contested election, Mavalankar emerged victorious. This only proved his popularity among the members of the Assembly cutting across party lines.

Mavalankar remained Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly till the midnight of August 14-15, 1947 when, under the Indian Independence Act, 1947, the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of States ceased to exist and the Constituent Assembly of India assumed full powers for the governance of the country. In the wake of India's Independence, Mavalankar headed the Committee constituted on 20 August 1947 to study and report on the need to separate the Constitution-making role of the Constituent Assembly from its legislative role. Later, it was on this Committee's recommendation that the legislative and Constitution-making roles of the Assembly were separated and it was decided to have a Speaker to preside over me Assembly when it functioned as the legislative body for the country. Here again, the choice of the person to preside over the Session of the Constituent Assembly (Legislative) fell on Mavalankar, and accordingly he was elected to the office on 17 November 1947.

With the adoption of the Constitution of free India on 26 November 1949, and the consequent change in the nomenclature of the Constituent Assembly (Legislative) into that of the Provisional Parliament, there was a corresponding change in the status of Mavalankar also, Mavalankar thus became the Speaker of the Provisional Parliament on 26 November 1949.

Mavalankar continued to occupy the office of the Speaker throughout the Provisional Parliament,?i.e.?till the First Lok Sabha was constituted in 1952. This period, in fact, represented a very crucial phase in the history of the Indian Legislature as it was to oversee the process of transition from a colonial institution into a sovereign Parliament under the Constitution of Independent India. Also, it marked the beginning of a new era of fully responsible Government.

Compatible with its new status, several procedural innovations and modifications were required to be introduced into the functioning of Parliament. It was principally Speaker Mavalankar's job to be the harbinger as also the facilitator of these changes, Mavalankar did not belie the expectations of the Parliament and the country at large on him. By the time the process of elections to the First Lok Sabha was completed in the country in 1951-52, Mavaliinkar was ready with rules, practices, procedures and conventions necessary for the smooth functioning of a representative Parliament in the country. No one was, therefore, surprised when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru proposed the name of Mavalankar to be chosen as the Speaker of the First Lok Sabha of Independent India on 15 May 1952 and the House carried the proposal with 394 votes, against the opponent's 55.

On his initiative, the 'Question Hour' in its modern sense of the term became a regular and meaningful feature of parliamentary Sessions. Devices like Short Notice Questions and Half-an-Hour Discussions were introduced as means to elicit information from the Government and thereby to make the Government truly accountable to the Parliament. The entire legislative procedures underwent drastic changes under his initiative to make it truly democratic in tune with the changing times. The discussion on 'President's Address' on a 'Motion of Thanks' was started by Speaker Mavalankar.

Committees like the Rules Committee, the Committee of Privileges, the Business Advisory Committee, Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions, Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Committee on Government Assurances, Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the House, Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament, General Purposes Committee, etc. were introduced in the Indian Parliament on Speaker Mavalankar's initiative.

So long as he remained the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mavalankar did not take any active interest in politics, even though he did not sever his linkages with the Indian National Congress. This linkage, however, did not affect his own conduct in Parliament. He remained non-partisan and as such earned the admiration and respect of the entire House althrough his Speakership.