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Question 64 of 98 · Parliament
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Railway

The first Chairman of the Rajya Sabha was:

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Answer: Option A — Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

Detailed Solution

  • Radhakrishnan. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, because he was the first Vice-President of India, and the Vice-President is the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Why the Vice-President is the Chairman:

  • Under Article 64, the Vice-President is ex officio Chairman of the Council of States and does not hold any other office of profit.
  • The Vice-President is not a member of the Rajya Sabha, so he does not vote in the first instance, but he has a casting vote in case of a tie.

Radhakrishnan as Chairman:

  • He presided over the Rajya Sabha from its first sitting in May 1952.
  • He served as Chairman for two full terms as Vice-President, a record shared with few others.
  • He was known for conducting the proceedings of the House with dignity, humour and fairness.

About Dr. Radhakrishnan:

  • He was born on 5 September 1888 at Tiruttani in present-day Tamil Nadu.
  • He was a great philosopher and scholar of Indian and Western philosophy.
  • He taught at Mysore, Calcutta and Oxford universities and was Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University.
  • He was India's ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952.
  • He later became President of India.

Honours:

He received the Bharat Ratna in 1954, in the first year of the award, along with C. Rajagopalachari and C.V. Raman.

His birthday, 5 September, is celebrated as Teachers' Day in India.

Important books:

"Indian Philosophy", "The Hindu View of Life" and "An Idealist View of Life".

Role of the Chairman:

  • The Chairman presides over the Rajya Sabha, maintains order and decides points of procedure.
  • He also appoints the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha.

Why not the other options?

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was President of the Constituent Assembly and of India.

G.V. Mavalankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Sardar Hukam Singh was a Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Quick tip

Remember: First Chairman of the Rajya Sabha = Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (first Vice-President); Teachers' Day on 5 September.

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Parliament — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Parliament, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Parliament of India: the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, their composition, powers and officers, sessions, the law-making process, money bills, joint sittings, parliamentary committees, and devices such as question hour, zero hour and the various motions. Typical questions ask about the maximum strength of each house, the minimum age for members, who certifies a money bill (the Speaker), who presides over a joint sitting, and which committee is chaired by a member of the opposition (the Public Accounts Committee, by convention). Note the special powers of the Rajya Sabha under Articles 249 and 312. Practise the Parliament questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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