The new traffic rules under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, came into force in many states on September 1. Under the Act, heavy fines are imposed for offences such as over-spreading, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without states are not happy with the hefty fines and have opted to reduce the quantum of fines as suggested. What is the scope of the penalties imposed under it? Let’s find out in this week’s Five Ws & One H….
The Motor Vehicles Act is an Act of Parliament which regulates all aspects of road transport vehicles. The Motor vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which sought to make changes to the 1988 Act, was passed in the Rajya Sabha in July and in the Lok Sabha in Aught. The new traffic rules with sticker penalties, under the 2019 Act, came into effect on September 1.
How have the penalties been increased under the recently amended Act?
The penalties for breaking traffic rules have gone up multi-fold. For driving without a license, the new fine is ?5000, which is 10 times the earlier fine of ?500.
The maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol has been increased from ?2000 to ?10000.
For speeding or racing, the fine has been increased from ?500 to ?5000.
Not wearing a seatbelt while driving would attract a fine of ? 1000 as against the earlier fine of ?100.
If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to ?1Lakh.
The Central government may increase the fines by 10% every year.
Why are the other provisions as per the new Act?
The new Act has extended the period for renewal of driving licenses from one moth to one year after the date of expiry.
The Act also promises to protect those who render emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim of an accident, from any civil or criminal liability.
The minimum compensation for death or grievous injury in hit-and-run cases has been increased from ?25000 to ?2- Lakh in case of death, and from ?12500 to ?50000 in case of grievous injury.
The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the ‘golden hour’ – the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest.
The Act requires the Central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in the country.
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Nigeria has been home to a number of ancient and indigenous kingdoms and states over the millennia. However, the modern state of Nigeria largely dates back to the British colonial rule that started in the 19th century; its present territory took shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria in 1914.
The mystical place Timbuktu is very famous. The famous trading region is situated in modern day Mali. Mali was once part of the three great pre-colonial Sudanic empires: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.
Botswana is named after its dominant ethnic group, the Tswana. Botswana is Africa’s oldest and longest continuous multi-party democracy.
In 1957, Ghana gained independence from its British rulers and became the first country to break free from colonial rule. Its economy has flourished since then. Ghana has become a major African power due to its economic prosperity and democratic political system.
Before the 1920s, we did not have a country called Libya. In its place, there were three historical regions- Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan which were ruled by the Ottomans. The Italians later colonized this region and unified them to form a single colony. Thus Libya was born.
Egypt is a land of antiquity. The civilisations and rulers of Egypt were highly regarded around the world.
Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980 and since then, veteran President Robert Mugabe dominated its political landscape for almost four decades.
Mozambique’s wealth lies in its natural resources. Unfortunately, it is still one of the poorest nations because of underdevelopment.
Ethiopia was never colonized by anyone. In fact, it is the only African country which was never colonized. Italy occupied it twice, but they couldn’t establish themselves as rulers.
Remember Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa? He was jailed for 27 years because he fought for freedom. Before Mandela came to power, the country was ruled by a British minority government. Their rules strictly kept apart the two ethnic groups- the whites and the blacks.
Cameroon is noted for its geographical and cultural diversity. It is known as ‘Africa in miniature’ for the same reason. The Sao civilization flourished near Lake Chad in Cameroon and the southeastern rainforests were inhabited by the Baka hunter-gatherers.
Many of the fossil remains of ancient Man have been found in Kenya. Kenya was colonized by the British in the 19th century. The colony did not have a peaceful atmosphere like many others.
Africa is the oldest inhabited territory on Earth; human beings originated here! The continent was home to many ancient civilizations including those of Egypt, Congo and the Ashanti people, which flourished before Arab or European contact. Africa is noted for its jarring ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity. It’s the second largest and the second most-populous continent.
Let’s talk about our motherland now. Apart from its history, what is special about our country? Here are some interesting facts about India.
Before communism took shape, China was ruled by empires after empires for at least 2000 years, the last of them being the Qing dynasty. China established itself as a great power in the 18th century.
Cambodia and Vietnam have one thing in common; both the countries were ruled by the French for almost a hundred years. Though Cambodia tried to remain neutral during the Vietnam War, the country was in trouble as the war spread across the borders. The country’s peace was affected by the bitter fighting between the US troops and the Vietnamese communists.
Vietnam was colonized and ruled by the French for almost a century until the 1950s. The French rule came to an end when the communists took over the northern part of the country in 1954.
Years ago, North and South Korea were a single country. World War II divided the country into two. How did this happen?
Bangladesh has close connections with India. It was once part of India. During partition, Bangladesh became a part of Pakistan and was known as East Pakistan.
Japan was ruled by various emperors and warlords before the 19th century. Things started to change in the 19th century as Japan aimed to expand its borders to become a powerful empire. It waged wars with China and Russia. Japan occupied many territories including Korea by the end of the 1900s.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly known as the Soviet Union, was the largest country when it existed. We now have 15 independent states in its place including Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Russia. How did the Soviet Union take shape? Why did it collapse? Let’s take a look.
As their flag shows, Bhutan is known as the Land of Thunder Dragon. Squeezed between India and China, Bhutan is a tiny country in Asia which gives more importance to Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product. It is also the first country to ban the production and sale of tobacco.
Finland has strong neighbours who played a key role in shaping its history. It is a small nation positioned between Sweden and Russia and has often been a tool to prove the power of its neighbours. Sweden started to gain control over Finland from the 1100s which was later lost to Russia in the Napoleonic War.
Sweden was not known to the world till Vikings explored this land. Sweden prospered under the rule of Vikings who fought wars to expand their territory.
Oil once made Venezuela rich beyond expectations; it was one of the richest Latin American countries which obtained half of its earnings from the oil industry. However, the oil prices began to drop from the 1960s.
The parliament or the Central Legislature of India consists of the President and the two Houses: The Rajya Sabha (the Upper House) and The Lok Sabha (the Lower House).
Census operation is now common in almost all the countries of the world. Nothing can be definitely said as to how and when it was started. But it seems that man realized the importance of census when he started living in larger groups. It is said that the population of the world was 85 million in the year 4000 B.C. It is evident from this fact that the system of census was very much developed at that time also. Why is the census taken? The reasons for this have been different at different times. In ancient times, the king used to have census with a view to assess the number of people fit for fighting in wars. Another purpose for having census was collection of revenue. Previously, there were probably these two main reasons for conducting census, but now it has acquired greater importance.
Bhagat Singh was a national hero who gave a new wave to the revolutionary movement in India. To spread the message of revolution in Punjab, Bhagat formed a union of revolutionaries by the name ‘Naujawan Bharat Sabha’.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar popularly has known as Veer Savarkar, occupies a prominent place in the history of India’s struggle for freedom. He was passionate about winning freedom from British rule, and boycotting foreign goods.
India played a significant role in World War I. When the war broke out in 1914, there was growing political unrest in India against the British rule.
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were the measures taken by the British Government in 1918 to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India.
In 1917, a committee was set up under Sir Sydney Rowlatt to look into the militant activities of the Indian freedom fighters.
After the Non-cooperation Movement was withdrawn, there was some confusion in the Congress as to what the next course of action should be.
Gandhiji’s Dandi March encouraged millions of Indians to defy the British by breaking the unfair salt laws of the British. Indians started making or buying salt illegally.
The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930, was an act of civil disobedience led by Gandhiji. His actions sent shockwaves across the nation.
Subhash Chandra Bose was a patriot right from his earliest years. He was a brilliant student who excelled at his studies, but was asked to leave Presidency College in Calcutta for assaulting a professor who made anti-India comments. He later cracked the civil services examination after his graduation, and secured a job with the civil service department, but quit because he did not want to work under the British.
The British were prepared for a massive uprising by the Indians. Within a few hours of a speech by Gandhiji calling for an orderly withdrawal of the British from Indian soil, the top leaders of the Indian National Congress leaders were swiftly arrested.
Jayaprakash Narayan or JP as he was lovingly called was a disciple of Gandhiji, a 
political leader and social reformer.
Though the partition of Bengal was in 1905, the partition proposals had been in the public eye as early as 1903.
In 1905, Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy decided that Bengal should be partitioned into two. Though the British claimed that this drastic step was taken for administrative purposes, the real motive was to curb the growth of nationalism in Bengal.
The names Lal, Bal and Pal refer to three great patriots, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. They led the movement for Indian independence in the early 20th century, and launched the Swadeshi Movement. The three leaders changed the political discourse of the Independence movement.
Eleven hundred kilometres south of Singapore lies Christmas Island which was under the control of the British in 1942. Britain maintained a small force that employed Indian soldiers on the island.
The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885. It was the result of the effort of a number of educated Indians who were highly discontented with the exploitative nature of the British rule. In the beginning, its objective was to get a bigger share in government for enlightened Indians.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a great social reformer, and one of the architects of modern India. He was a staunch supporter of the theory of oneness of God, and he was totally against caste rigidity, polygamy, sati, and superstitions.
After the failure of the First Round Table Conference, the British Government decided to try for a compromise with Gandhiji, who had been arrested and put in prison.
In the year 1950, the Republic of India was born, the year that India took its rightful place among the sovereign nations of the world. India, under Gandhiji had struggled through decades of passive resistance, before Britain finally accepted Indian independence.
Writers and poets played an important role in India’s independence movement for them breathed life into the concepts and visions of freedom. The Movement, just like the French revolution, witnessed a lot of literary works that motivate the Indians to fight till the end.
The colonial period in India set off an explosion of poetry, both in English and the regional languages. The poems were revolutionary, and brimming with nationalism.
Subramania Bharati is considered to be one of the greatest Tamil poets. Most of his works were on religious, political, and social themes.
Muhammad lqbal was a great poet, and philosopher. He is commonly referred to as Allama lqbal.
Vallathol Narayana Menon is one of the greatest poets of Kerala, who was also a nationalist and patriot. He participated in India’s freedom struggle, and reawakened our pride in our national heritage and identity.
India awoke to freedom on 15th August, 1947. The journey to freedom was one filled with sacrifice and suffering, but the people of India never lost heart. Whenever their steps faltered, their leaders were there to urge them on by example, and with stirring slogans.
The Labour Party grew out of the trade union movement and socialist political parties of the 19th century before the First World War. Although after 1825, workers were allowed to form associations, they could not strike for their cause, and unions were not protected by law. However, after 1850, with the entry of mass production techniques, the Industrial Revolution entered a new phase. The number of unions grew, even in towns. New political ideas emerged, due to Socialism, which stressed on equality among men. The 1874 elections saw two workers entering parliament, and slowly, their numbers rose in the coming years.
The members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) founded by Mrs. Pankhurst in 1904 were called Suffragettes. This was formed to fight for women’s right to vote and for equal status with men. The suffragettes at first, tried peaceful means, through speeches, pamphlets and demonstrations. Upon getting no attention from the parliament, they resorted to more extreme measures like breaking windows, burning empty houses and even chaining themselves to the railings of Hyde Park. However during the First World War in 1914, the suffragettes abandoned their campaign to actively support the war effort. These acts persuaded the government to allow women over thirty to vote in 1918, and later in 1928, women were given equal status with men, and could vote at the age of 21. 
The Lords always posed difficulties, whenever the Liberals tried to pass a bill to reform legislation. It got so bad that, at one point, the government decided to put an end to this. The Parliament Bill was thus a weapon to limit the powers of the Lords, especially in matters pertaining to finance and its prominence in legislation. When the Lords attempted to stop this bill’s passage, the then Prime Minister Asquith appealed to King George V for help. The king promised the PM, that if necessary, he would create enough new Liberal peers to vote for the approval of the bill. The Lords of course, took a tough stance. The PM again went to the polls in December 1910, and won a clear majority. The king’s promise was made public, and the Lords had to concede. On August 10th, 1911, the Parliament Bill became law.
Between 1832 and 1918, the British electoral system was transformed. Each electoral reform, by itself, may not seem very dramatic, but taken together, the series of reforms passed during the period was surely revolutionary. One reform led to another. After the First and Second Reform Acts, an act was passed in 1883 to limit the expenses of election candidates. In 1884, the vote was extended to all householders in the counties. Standing for election, and voting at elections, was no longer the privilege of the rich. By 1918, three-quarters of the adult population could vote, and vote freely, for a range of candidates. This meant that politicians had to work harder to win votes. They had to travel around the country, meeting ordinary people to ask for their votes. Parliament had at last, become truly democratic.
The 1867 Reform Act was the second major attempt to reform Britain’s electoral process. By this time, party names had changed. The Tories were now called the Conservative Party, and the Whigs changed their name to the Liberal Party. It was the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli who promoted the Second Reform Act, believing that it would help to win the support of the middle classes.
Till 1778, the common man did not know much about what happened inside parliament. However, that changed when journalists were allowed into the House of Commons in 1778. From 1783, newspapers began to print reports of the debates in parliament. This was a very important development, as Englishmen could now know what exactly their lawmakers were up to. If they read that parliament was not acting in their best interests, they could complain and take action. Parliament thus became more responsible to the people, and the newspapers also became more powerful as they played a role in moulding public opinion. 
George III ascended the throne in 1760, upon the sudden death of his grandfather, Georg II. He was a member of the House of Hanover, a noble German family that succeeded to the British throne in 1714. George wanted to play an active role in the government- and he wanted to get rid of the Whigs, who had become very corrupt. The Tory party, after an Long exile from power, was now rapidly gaining ground. George III took advantage of these conditions, and, putting himself at the head of the Tories, attempted to become the real master in English politics. He chose new ministers- but soon found that he needed the support of the House of Commons to carry out his policies. To get this support, he had to bribe the members- and so finally, George III, who wanted to fight corruption, ended up by using bribery and corruption to get what he wanted! In fact, in the purchase of seats in the Commons for his favorites he outdid the Whigs in the worst days of their corruption.
In England, the king always had a small body of advisors or a council to help him to carry out his duties. This was known as the Privy Council. During the reign of Queen Anne, a new council emerged. It consisted of a group of men each of whom was entrusted with the responsibility of running one of the government departments. This was called the Cabinet Council. The Cabinet Council became the real source of power as time passed and it is the fore runner of the modern cabinet.
On 12 June 1701, the English Parliament passed an act to lay down the conditions for the succession to the throne of Great Britain. This has often been called the Act of Settlement or the Act of Settlement 1701. It was also extended to cover Scotland. Do you know why this act was passed?
In 1688, parliament brought about the deposition of James II, and invited William III and Mary II of Orange to the English throne as joint sovereigns. This is known as the Glorious or Bloodless Revolution. After this revolution, Parliament became very powerful, but the monarch could still reject legislation brought up by parliament by exercising what was called the royal veto. The word ‘veto’ is Latin for ‘I forbid’ and William used it on four occasions. Although, in theory, the royal veto still exists, it was used for the last time in 1708, by Queen Anne.
The history of the civil list dates from the reign of William and Mary in 18th century England. Before this, there had been no distinction between the expenses of government in time of peace and the personal expenses of the king. The civil list is the grant made by parliament for the monarch’s personal support, and for that of the royal household.
Charles I went to war against the parliament in 1642, and England was plunged into a Civil War for the next three years. The parliamentary army of about 14,000, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax, defeated about 8,000 Royalists, commanded by King Charles I, near the North amptonshire village of Naseby. The Royalists lost nearly all their arms and artillery, and thousands of their men were taken prisoner. One year after Naseby, Charles surrendered to Scotland, who in turn, handed Charles over to the English Parliament.
The Long Parliament was first called by King Charles I on 3rd November 1640, six months after the dissolution of the Short Parliament, and within weeks of the defeat of the English against Scotland. The king was reluctant to summon another parliament, but the expense of the wars had left him desperately short of money and in urgent need of parliamentary subsidies. The Long Parliament met from 1640 to 1653 and from 1659 to 1660. 
After eleven years of ruling without a parliament, Charles was forced to call the parliament in April 1640, as he needed money desperately to pay his troops. Parliament however, refused to cooperate with him, until he settled all its grievances. An angry king dissolved the parliament in just three weeks. Since it met for such a short time, this parliament is referred to as ‘The Short Parliament’. 
Charles I became King of England in 1625. He had problems with Parliament from the very beginning, because, his wife was French, and parliament resented his support of France. When parliament refused to grant him the money he wanted, he dissolved it and started collecting taxes illegally. Those who refused to pay were thrown into prison.
During the 1630’s, Charles I experimented with a number of ways to raise money without calling the parliament. One of this ways was to insist on Ship Money. This was a system by which English ports were forced to build and equip warships – or pay an equivalent amount of money as tax. However, when Charles tried to extend the practice to inland towns as well, there was an uproar, which finally led to a court battle. 
Do you know what a monopoly is? It is an exclusive right given to an individual or company to trade in a particular commodity. Traditionally, monarchs sold these monopolies or exclusive rights, and the sale of monopolies provided them with a lot of money.
During Elizabeth’s reign, the House of Commons became increasingly confident and assertive. Soon after Elizabeth became queen of England, the Protestants gained full control of parliament. It now became very important to parliament that Elizabeth marry. The Queen did not like it when they tried to discuss her personal life, but the House of Commons insisted that it had the right to do so, because, its members were guaranteed freedom of speech.
The mid sixteenth century was a time of religious upheaval in England. Henry VIII had broken away from the Catholic Church in Rome, and established the Church of England. The break with Rome, known as the Reformation, changed the country forever, and also left Henry’s children with an England deeply divided over religion.
Puritanism was a form of Christianity that came to England around 1563 AD. The Puritans believed that God wanted them to lead quiet, simple, serious lives. They spent a lot of their time praying, reading the Bible, and listening to sermons. They did not, have parties, listen to music, or dance. They did not celebrate holidays, not even Christmas or Easter. The growing numbers of Puritans in the house of Commons caused Elizabeth I a lot of trouble. 
Sir Thomas More was an advisor to King Henry VIII. He disapproved of the king divorcing his first wife Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, without the approval of the Pope. Moore was a devout Catholic, and believed deeply in the supremacy of the Pope. In 1532, when he saw that King Henry was determined to marry Anne Boleyn and that divorce was in the air, he claimed ill health and retired, rather than stay in the king’s cabinet.
Henry VII’s son, Henry VIII demanded enormous sums of money from parliament to renew the wars with France. The House of Commons refused, and finally, after much debate, Henry got only half of what he asked for. This proved that the Commons was still in control of taxation, even during the reign of a powerful monarch. Henry also had to work closely with parliament, in order to lead England away from the Catholic Church which had refused to grant him a divorce from his wife Catherine.
was to restore royal authority while England recovered from the War of the Roses. His biggest problem was that there were too many nobles in England, and he needed to check their power. To do this, he used the parliament to pass an act called the Star Chamber Act. This act set up a special court to try the wealthy and the powerful for offences, since ordinary courts be afraid to punish them.
The Palace of Westminster is the seat of Britain’s two houses of parliament, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons, and so it is more commonly known as the House of Parliament. It is located on the left bank of the River Thames in the borough of Westminster, London. The building, now considered one of the finest gothic structures in the world, has had a turbulent history which has included destruction by fire and bombing.
Edward IV became King of England with the support of parliament. He is respected for bringing stability back to government after a decade of civil strife during the initial Wars of the Roses. Since the war with France was also over, Edward IV had gained many estates, and he was a very rich man indeed. As a result, he began to become more and more independent of parliament. In fact, during the twenty two years of his reign, parliament was called only seven times.
The Wars of the Roses were a series of battles that were fought in England between two great houses or families. They were the House of Lancaster, whose supporters were called Lancastrians, and the House of York, whose supporters were the Yorkists. The battles were called the Wars of the Roses because the Yorkists were represented by a white rose and the Lancastrians by a red rose. This long civil war lasted from AD 1455-1485. Almost all the rich people in England chose sides, and during the wars, parliament kept changing sides.
Henry Bolingbroke, son of John Gaunt, became Henry IV, King of England after deposing, Richard II. Parliament played an important role in making him the king, and so, Henry IV was willing to agree to its many demands. One of these demands was that the members of parliament be given the freedom to discuss, and speak on any matter without fear of arrest. In effect, the House of Commons was asking for freedom of speech, and Henry agreed to this request. So, the reign of Henry IV saw the foundation laid for one of the most scared privileges of democracy today- freedom of speech. 
Following the death of his grandfather, Edward Ill in June, 1377, Richard II was crowned King of England at the age of ten. At that time, his uncle John Gaunt was involved in a tussle for power with parliament. As he grew older, Richard, like his uncle and grandfather before him, wanted to rule without being controlled by the parliament. This angered the members of the House of Commons. To make matters worse, Richard granted favours generously to his friends and supporters. The House of Commons disapproved of this, and in 1386, it wanted to impeach both the Chancellor and Treasurer.
Sir Peter de Ia Mare was an English politician who is best remembered as the Presiding Officer of the House of Commons during the Good Parliament of 1376. Soon after parliament was called, its members chose Sir Peter to be their spokesman. He thus became the first man to be recognized as Speaker of the House of Commons.
Edward II succeeded to the throne upon his father’s death in 1307. His reign was one of constant struggle with the barons. In this struggle, Edward was defeated, and thrown into prison. The question now became what to do with him. The simplest solution was to have Edward put to death. The problem was that the execution of Edward II would necessitate a trial. While there was general agreement that Edward had not paid proper attention to the needs of his subjects, his actions were not considered treas on. The situation was further complicated by the fact that legal power and the ability to set royal policy still rested with Edward even though he was in jail!
Edward Ill came to the throne in 1327, and from that point, the representatives of the counties who were called the knights of the shire and of the towns who were the burgesses, became a permanent part of parliament.
Edward I, Henry III’s son, made the meeting of parliament a more frequent event and over the course of his reign of 35 years, he summoned it on 46 occasions. He was not a democrat, but he saw that parliament was necessary if he was to raise enough money to carry out his policies and to conduct his war with France.
During the thirteenth century, in England, the word ‘parliament’ often referred to the assemblies that were summoned by the king. These assemblies acted as a session of the nobility. However, when Simon de Montfort came to power, he needed the support of all the people. He summoned the Great Council more frequently. In 1265, in addition to the Lords, he also included burgesses from the towns. The burgesses were the representatives of the ordinary people.
Simon de Montfort was a Frenchman who married King Henry III’s sister. He owned land in England, and became the Earl of Leicester. Simon considered Henry unfit to rule, and led a group of barons who forced the Provisions of Oxford on the king. When Henry refused to rule according to the Provisions, Simon ultimately led a baronial rebellion. He managed to capture the king at the Battle of Lewes. He then governed England as a military dictator for a short time. 
Henry III was a 13th century English king who came to the throne at an early age. His reign was marked by strife with barons, led by Simon de Montfort. By 1258, the situation had worsened, and Henry was forced to agree to the Provisions of Oxford. This was a document out-lining reforms to English Common Law. The reforms reinforced and refined many of the principles laid down in the Magna Carta, paving the way for greater rights and freedoms for the common man. 
The 13th century saw many changes in the English way of life. The feudal system began slowly breaking up. Trade and industry grew by leaps and bounds, and the towns were also becoming bigger and more prosperous.
King John was a very unpopular monarch who came to the throne of England in 1199. The lords of England hated John, because he taxed everyone heavily, and was generally a weak and nasty ruler. By 1215, the English lords had enough of his misrule, and they got together an army and marched to London. John was forced to sign the paper they put in front of him, which is known as The Magna Carta. Did you know that Magna Carta means ‘Great Letter’ in Latin? The Magna Carta is one of the most important documents in history. It guaranteed the people certain rights, and bound the king to certain laws. To begin with, the king had to obey the law, like other people. Moreover, if the king broke the law, the lords had the right to remove that king. In particular, the king could not collect new taxes. After writing the document, these nobles forced King John to sign it, on the threat of civil war. Their intention was only to protect the rights of nobles. Nevertheless, in time, the rights established by the Magna Carta were also extended to commoners. The Magna Carta was signed at Runnymede, Surrey, and South England in 1215.
Henry II, who came to the throne of England in 1154, was one of the most effective of all England’s monarchs. He ruled over an empire that included half of France as well as England, Wales and Scotland. This meant that he had to travel a lot, and while he was away, he wanted a government that would function well in his absence.
After the last Anglo-Saxon king died in England, several people claimed the throne. One was the late king’s cousin, William, Duke of Normandy. He invaded England, and at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William defeated another rival for the throne. William was then crowned King of England.
The Althing in Iceland, founded in the year AD 930, is usually given the credit of being the world’s oldest parliament. At the beginning it was a general assembly of freemen to vote and discuss issues of common concern. The Althing was suspended from 1800 to 1845.The world’s oldest continuous parliament is a title claimed by the Tynwald in the Isle of Man, which dates back to AD 979. But actually, lots of civilizations throughout history, like the Mesopotamian and Indus civilizations, have also claimed to have had parliaments. 
Though the first modern parliament can be traced back to the Curia Regis in 13th century England, the origins of parliament go back to the sixth century when England was ruled by Anglo Saxon tribes. In each of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms, an assembly called the Witenagemot existed. It was composed of important churchmen, earls, and other members of the nobility.
The beginning of the modern parliament can be traced back to the 13th century when a council, known as the Curia Regis, or Great Council, advised the king. The Curia Regis was made up of noblemen and church officials. It was in fact, an English court, and it assumed this name during the reign of Henry II. It was called Curia or Aula Regis because it was held in the great hall of the king’s palace.
The British Parliament was once described as the ‘mother of parliaments’ by the nineteenth century radical John Bright. It is one of the models of democratic government followed by many countries throughout the world, and is result of over 800 years of development and honoured tradition. During its first 400 years, Parliament developed from being the royal debating chamber or, the King’s Great Council, to becoming one of the nation’s key political institutions.
You all know that India is a democracy, but do you know what a democracy is? Democracy, in Greek, means the rule of the people. In a democracy, the government is run by the people, and the citizens make their own laws. The earliest democracy in the world began in Athens in 510 BC.