Bicameralism

The practice of keeping two parliamentary or two legislative chambers is known as bicameralism. The word bicameralism means ‘bi’ which means ‘two’ and the camera resembles ‘chambers’, therefore the meaning of bicameral is that of two chambers or two bodies. So, the bicameral legislature or parliament is a parliament or legislature where two houses or chambers are present. Roughly, it can be said that bicameral legislatures are present in around 80 countries all over the world.

As it is known that the meaning of bicameralism is that when the government is having two parliament houses. The concurrent majority is required for the passing of primary legislation i.e. in each chamber of the legislature the acceptance of the majority members is required, if this thing occurs then the legislature is known as the suitable example of perfect bicameralism. The Parliament of India is bicameral or bicameral legislature which consists of two houses- the upper house (Rajya Sabha) and the lower house (Lok Sabha) along with the president of India.

Bicameralism in India was introduced in the year 1919. The Government of India Act of 1919 proposes that the legislature of India must contain two chambers and the governor-general, which are known by the names House of Assembly and Council of State. At five years the term of the council was set. The Council of State could not be dissolved as it was made the permanent body; this was done according to the Government Act of 1935. This was made a rule that each member of the Council of State must work for 9 years and every three years one-third of the members will retire. The Second Chamber that was established by the Indian Government Act in the year 1919 was in function till 1947. With Rajya Sabha (An upper house) and Lok Sabha (a Lower House), the Indian constitution sets up bicameralism. There are seven states in India presently, which follow bicameralism; these states are Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. The other states except these 7 states do not have bicameralism, they only have unicameralism. The states of the Indian Federation are represented by the Rajya Sabha and by the Lok Sabha the total population of the country is represented. The Vidhan Sabha of the state is identical to that of the Lok Sabha and The Rajya Sabha is identical to the Vidhan Parishad. For bicameralism in India, in the parliamentary system, the Rajya Sabha is considered important, this is because every two years only the number of seats that are filled is one-third. The members who are elected indirectly can also serve in the legislative process. Some say that Vidhan Sabha serves or contributes no purposes and on the state budget, they put shear. 

Some pros and cons of Bicameralism 

Some pros of Bicameralism are –

1. Units in a Federation are represented by bicameralism.
2. Individual liberty is safeguarded.
3. Bicameralism enables the working of the legislature smoothly.
4. Different interests are represented.
5. Hasty legislation is prevented by bicameralism

Some cons of Bicameralism –

1. Bicameralism lacks unity.
2. Deadlocks
3. Superfluous
4. Expensive
5. Delays passing of laws

Conclusion

It is to conclude that the meaning of bicameralism is that when the government is having two parliament houses. Bicameralism in India was introduced in the year 1919. The Government of India Act of 1919 proposes that the legislature of India must contain two chambers and the governor-general, which are known by the names House of Assembly and Council of State. There are seven states in India presently, which follow bicameralism; these states are Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.