On February 12, 1921, twenty-six years before India’s independence, Britain’s Duke of Connaught lay the foundation stone of Parliament House, proclaiming that the House will stand “as the symbol of India’s rebirth to yet higher destinies.”
As we watched the last session at the old house of Parliament today, let’s celebrate the fact that the halls of the ‘old’ Parliament building will always echo what they have witnessed in their life span of 96 years. Inaugurated by Lord Irwin, the then viceroy amid fanfare, the monument has witnessed colonial rule, the Second World War, the dawn of Independence, adoption of the Constitution and the passage of many legislations; some revolutionary and many controversial.
Author-Gopi Shah