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Events on December 13 in history

2001 Indian Parliament attack
2001Dec, 13

Sansad Bhavan, the building housing the Indian Parliament, is attacked by terrorists. Twelve people are killed, including the terrorists.

The Parliament of India (IAST: Bhratya Sansad) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The president in his role as head of the legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha. The president can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the prime minister and his Union Council of Ministers.

Those elected or nominated (by the president) to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of Parliament (MPs). The members of parliament of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public voting in single-member districts and the members of parliament of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of all state legislative assemblies by proportional representation. The Parliament has a sanctioned strength of 543 in the Lok Sabha and 245 in the Rajya Sabha including 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of literature, art, science, and social service. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi.

The Parliament House (IAST:Sansad Bhavan) in New Delhi is the seat of the Parliament of India. At a distance of 750 meters from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it is located on Sansad Marg which crosses the Central Vista and is surrounded by the India Gate, war memorial, prime minister's office and residence, ministerial buildings and other administrative units of Indian government. Its houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha which represent lower and upper houses respectively in India's bicameral parliament.

The building was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker and was constructed between 1921 and 1927. It was opened in January 1927 as the seat of the Imperial Legislative Council. Following the end of British rule in India, it was taken over by the Constituent Assembly, and then by the Indian Parliament once India's Constitution came into force in 1950.A new building to house Parliament is under construction directly opposite the current building as part of the Indian government's Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

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Events on 2001

  • 6May

    Pope John Paul II

    During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
  • 11Sep

    September 11 attacks

    Two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by 19 members of al-Qaeda. A total of 2,996 people are killed.
  • 14Sep

    September 11, 2001 attacks

    Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks. A similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital.
  • 17Sep

    September 11 attacks

    The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.
  • 7Oct

    War in Afghanistan (2001-2014)

    The Global War on Terrorism begins as a result of the September 11 attacks. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan initiates with an air assault and covert operations on the ground.