Study Guides/Civics/First Speaker of Lok Sabha
Study Guide · Civics

Who was the First Speaker of the Lok Sabha?

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the highest authority and presiding officer of the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The very first person to sit in this prestigious chair laid down the rules and traditions that the Indian Parliament follows even today.

Question (Click to Flip)

Who was the first female Speaker of the Lok Sabha?

Answer

Meira Kumar became the first female Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2009, serving during the 15th Lok Sabha.

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Key Facts

He was completely fiercely independent. Even though he belonged to the ruling Congress party, as a Speaker, he treated the Prime Minister and the opposition leaders with equal strictness.

Because he died while still in office in 1956, M. A. Ayyangar (the Deputy Speaker at the time) took over and became the second Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

1. The First Speaker

The first Speaker of the Lok Sabha was Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, popularly and respectfully known as 'Dadasaheb'.

  • He served as the Speaker from 15th May 1952 (when the first Lok Sabha was officially constituted after India's first general elections) until his death on 27th February 1956.

2. Why is he called the 'Father of the Lok Sabha'?

Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, bestowed upon him the title 'Father of the Lok Sabha'.

  • When the Indian Parliament was newly born, there were no set rules on how debates should happen or how bills should be passed.
  • G.V. Mavalankar created the strict rules of parliamentary procedure, established the 'Question Hour' where MPs can question the government, and set up various parliamentary committees to check the government's work.

3. His Background

  • He was a lawyer from Gujarat and an active freedom fighter who spent several years in British jails.
  • Even before the Lok Sabha was created, he was the President of the Central Legislative Assembly (from 1946 to 1947) under the British, and the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly (the body that wrote the Constitution).

Questions and Answers

Who was the first female Speaker of the Lok Sabha?+

Meira Kumar became the first female Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2009, serving during the 15th Lok Sabha.

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