In a final goodbye to the old Parliament, the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will assemble for group photographs on Tuesday morning at the old building.
They will then participate in a function to commemorate the rich legacy of Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed nation by 2047 before moving to the new building.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday set the tone for the much anticipated historic shift during his opening address on the first day of the special session of Parliment which was held at the old building.
During his speech, PM Modi turned emotional as he recalled the building’s rich history and acknowledged the myriad bitter-sweet memories woven into its fabric.
Old Parliament: Symbol of India’s colonial past
Built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker two decades before India’s Independence in 1947, the old Parliament witnessed the birth of the republic and thereafter served as a custodian of the world’s biggest democracy.
The building has stood for over 96 years as a sentinel of time and a repository of India’s democratic journey.
The landmark has witnessed colonial rule, the Second World War, the dawn of Independence, the adoption of the Constitution, and the passage of many legislations – some landmark and many controversial.
Parliament House when it was under construction
The old edifice has been described as a “repository of India’s history” and its “democratic ethos” and an “architectural jewel” of Delhi.
The historic building was opened at a time the new imperial capital of the British Raj, New Delhi, was being built at a site in the Raisina Hill area.
According to archival documents and rare old images, a grand ceremony was held to mark the opening of the building, then called the Council House.
According to the book “New Delhi: Making of a Capital” by Malvika Singh and Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Lord Irwin had arrived in his viceregal carriage at a pavilion set up at the Great Place (now Vijay Chowk) and then “proceeded to open the door of the Council House with a golden key, handed to him by Sir Herbert Baker.”
The Constituent Assembly had its first meeting on December 9, 1946, in the central chamber (Central Hall) and adopted the Constitution on November 26, 1949.
The Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, signifying the birth of the Republic of India.
A widely-recognised structure
The building has a diameter of 560 feet and circumference of a third of a mile, covering an area of nearly six acres.
With its circular design and an impressive colonnade of 144 creamy sandstone on the first floor, the sprawling edifice is one of the most distinctive parliament buildings anywhere in the world and among the most defining and widely-recognised structures.
The monsoon session of the Parliament, which concluded in August, was the last full legislative sitting in the building. The session provided 17 sittings over 23 days.
A midnight session of the Constituent Assembly being held on 14-15 August 1947
“The Parliament House is not just an iconic building, it is a repository of history and a repository of our democracy,” conservation architect and urban planner AGK Menon told PTI.
“The old Parliament (building) holds a lot of historical significance, that is where the nation gained freedom, that is where Nehru’s famous speech took place … There are a lot of memories associated with it,” the Congress’ Rajeev Shukla told PTI.
Watch Watch: Moment When National Anthem Was Played for the Last Time in the Old Parliament Building