2019-05-13 Mon

May 13 marks one of the most important dates in Indian history, because on this day in the year 1952, the newly constituted “Council of States” sat together for the first time under the chairmanship of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It was the beginning of a new phase in the journey of the nation as an independent, sovereign country. This 'Second Chamber' of the Parliament of India, was later named as the Rajya Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. The origin of the second chamber can be traced to the Montague Chelmsford Report of 1918. The Government of India Act, 1919 provided for the formation of a ‘Council of State’ as a second chamber of the then legislature with a restricted charter which actually came into existence in 1921.

Today, the Rajya Sabha is an important part of the Indian Parliament, which provides the necessary discussions on important matters of the nation along with the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous sessions, and unlike the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, is not subject to dissolution. The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. Shri Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu is the current Vice President of India and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, in office since 11 August 2017.

The Rajya Sabha along with Lok Sabha represents the majesty and sovereignty of the Indian people. India Postal Department has issued 2 commemorative postage stamps on Rajya Sabha.