Two major countries of South Asia – Pakistan and India – adopted the Westminster type parliamentary system after their independence from the colonial rule in 1947. The institution of parliament originated in South Asia since the day when the British crown took over the direct control of the government in India. That was one of the reasons that both Pakistan and India kept going with the parliament in their respective state system after independence.

Human Rights, norms universally endorsed by the states after the foundation of United Nations in 1948, also had appealed to South Asians along with other people of world almost a century ago. Connected with the concepts of democracy, human rights were not only valuable for the people of South Asia, but also they got the attention of the ruling circles, whether British or political elite of independent nations of the region. Given the significance and future necessity of the states, the democratic institutions of elected legislatures along with the implementation of the principles of human rights, therefore, need a thorough historical probe.

In this session, the historians of South Asia will have the opportunity to share their work on the evolution of parliamentary institution in the region during the period starting from the initiation of British raj in India to the present-day India and Pakistan. The human rights as legislated and observed by the legislatures are discussed. Likewise, legislature’s relations with other institutions of the state are also evaluated. The evolution of the supremacy of the parliament in South Asian states and issues connected with this phenomenon have been highlighted with the help of historical studies.