The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is an important position in the Indian Parliament. They act as the president officer and highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. They ensure the smooth functioning of the House, maintaining order and decorum, and upholding parliamentary traditions and procedures. The speaker is the first one who is an element in the first meeting of Lok Sabha. They serve for five years and change in every five years followed by a General election. Till now, Balram Jakhar is the one who served India as the longest speaker in the Lok Sabha. Today, we bring you a comprehensive list of all the Speakers of the Lok Sabha from independence to the present, highlighting their all details.
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1. Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar:
He is freedom Fighter who established procedural framework and parliamentary conventions. He also set high standards for the Parliament House.
- Birth-Death: 1888-1956
- Constituency: Ahmedabad
- Tenure: 1952-1956
- Period: 1st Lok Sabha
- Background: Freedom Fighter, Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 1st
- Deputy Speaker: M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar
- Notable Achievement: Procedural Framework
2. M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar:
He is a lawyer and Consolidated parliamentary practices. With his work, he strengthened the speaker’s authority and was known for impartiality and fairness during his tenure.
- Birth-Death: 1891-1978
- Constituency: Chittoor
- Tenure: 1956-1962
- Period: 1st-2nd Lok Sabha
- Background: Lawyer, Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 1st-2nd
- Deputy Speaker: Sardar Hukam Singh
- Notable Achievement: Parliamentary Practices
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3. Hukam Singh:
He belonged to the Shiromani Akali Dal and Maintained harmony during the Indo-China War of 1962. He promoted unity as speaker of Lok Sabha within the house during difficult times. His work is still well-known.
- Birth-Death: 1895-1983
- Constituency: Ludhiana
- Tenure: 1962-1967
- Period: 2nd-3rd Lok Sabha
- Background: Shiromani Akali Dal, Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 2nd-3rd
- Deputy Speaker: Sardar Hukam Singh
- Notable Achievement: Wartime Harmony
4. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy:
He is a freedom fighter and neutral. He is also a speaker who became the president of India. His work as a speaker makes him president.
- Birth-Death: 1913-1996
- Constituency: Anantapur
- Tenure: 1967-1969, 1977
- Period: 4th, 6th Lok Sabha
- Background: Freedom Fighter, Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 4th, 6th
- Deputy Speaker: G. Lakshmanan
- Notable Achievement: President of India
5. Gurdial Singh Dhillon:
He is a politician and served as Speaker. He introduced reforms in parliamentary procedures and Enhanced the dignity of the House.
- Birth-Death: 1915-1992
- Constituency: Tarn Taran
- Tenure: 1969-1971, 1971-1975
- Period: 4th-5th Lok Sabha
- Background: Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 4th-5th
- Deputy Speaker: R.K. Khadilkar
- Notable Achievement: Procedural Reforms
6. Bali Ram Bhagat:
He Streamlined House functioning during political challenges and Managed the House during the Emergency period
- Birth-Death: 1922-2011
- Constituency: Arrah
- Tenure: 1976-1977
- Period: 5th Lok Sabha
- Background: Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 5th
- Deputy Speaker: G.G. Swell
- Notable Achievement: Streamlining Functioning
7. K.S. Hegde:
He is a jurist and ensured opposition voices were heard within the house.
- Birth-Death: 1909-1990
- Constituency: Bangalore South
- Tenure: 1977-1980
- Period: 6th Lok Sabha
- Background: Jurist, Janata Party
- Lok Sabha: 6th
- Deputy Speaker: G.G. Swell
- Notable Achievement: Opposition Voices
8. Balram Jakhar:
He is one of the longest-serving speakers of India. He modernised the parliamentary library and research facilities during his tenure.
- Birth-Death: 1923-2016
- Constituency: Ferozepur
- Tenure: 1980-1984, 1984-1989
- Period: 7th-8th Lok Sabha
- Background: Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 7th-8th
- Deputy Speaker: Shivraj Patil
- Notable Achievement: Longest Serving
9. Rabi Ray:
He is a socialist leader and became speaker of the Lok Sabha. It promoted transparency and efficiency in the house.
- Birth-Death: 1926-2017
- Constituency: Kendrapara
- Tenure: 1989-1991
- Period: 9th Lok Sabha
- Background: Socialist, Janata Dal
- Lok Sabha: 9th
- Deputy Speaker: Shivraj Patil
- Notable Achievement: Transparency
10. Shivraj Patil:
His main strength is he maintains decorum and discipline in the house and fairly handles all the situations.
- Birth-Death: 1935-Present
- Constituency: Latur
- Tenure: 1991-1996
- Period: 10th Lok Sabha
- Background: Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 10th
- Deputy Speaker: Suraj Bhan
- Notable Achievement: Decorum
11. P.A. Sangma:
He is a co-founder of NCP and brings IT use to parliamentary proceedings. His effort brought a huge change in housework.
- Birth-Death: 1947-2016
- Constituency: Tura
- Tenure: 1996-1998
- Period: 11th Lok Sabha
- Background: Indian National Congress, NCP
- Lok Sabha: 11th
- Deputy Speaker: Suraj Bhan
- Notable Achievement: IT in Parliament
12. G.M.C. Balayogi:
He is a politician and improved Lok Sabha efficiency as a speaker of the Lok sabha.
- Birth-Death: 1951-2002
- Constituency: Amalapuram
- Tenure: 1998-2002
- Period: 12th-13th Lok Sabha
- Background: Telugu Desam Party (TDP)
- Lok Sabha: 12th-13th
- Deputy Speaker: P.M. Sayeed
- Notable Achievement: Efficiency
13. Manohar Joshi:
He belongs to the Shiv Sena and enhances parliamentary committees’ functioning and strengthens the legislative process in the house.
- Birth-Death: 1937-Present
- Constituency: Mumbai North Central
- Tenure: 2002-2004
- Period: 13th Lok Sabha
- Background: Shiv Sena
- Lok Sabha: 13th
- Deputy Speaker: P.M. Sayeed
- Notable Achievement: Committee Functioning
14. Somnath Chatterjee:
He is known to maintain impartiality and dignity of the House.
- Birth-Death: 1929-2018
- Constituency: Bolpur
- Tenure: 2004-2009
- Period: 14th Lok Sabha
- Background: CPI (M)
- Lok Sabha: 14th
- Deputy Speaker: Charanjit Singh Atwal
- Notable Achievement: Fairness
15. Meira Kumar:
She is the first woman who be a speaker of the Lok Sabha. She has Significant reforms in parliamentary procedures and Promoted women’s participation in politics
- Birth-Death: 1945-Present
- Constituency: Sasaram
- Tenure: 2009-2014
- Period: 15th Lok Sabha
- Background: Indian National Congress
- Lok Sabha: 15th
- Deputy Speaker: Kariya Munda
- Notable Achievement: Women’s Participation
16. Sumitra Mahajan:
She is the second woman speaker of the Lok Sabha. She emphasised the discipline and decorum of the house with their words.
- Birth-Death: 1943-Present
- Constituency: Indore
- Tenure: 2014-2019
- Period: 16th Lok Sabha
- Background: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Lok Sabha: 16th
- Deputy Speaker: M. Thambidurai
- Notable Achievement: Fairness
17. Om Birla:
He is the current speaker of the Lok sabha and soon a new speaker will be elected. He Promoted digitization, and enhanced committee functioning in the house.
- Birth-Death: 1962-Present
- Constituency: Kota
- Tenure: 2019-Present
- Period: 17th Lok Sabha
- Background: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Lok Sabha: 17th
- Deputy Speaker: No one
- Notable Achievement: Digitization
Conclusion:
The role of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is important. They ensure the smooth functioning of India’s parliamentary democracy. Over the years, each speaker contributed their unique development and strengthening to improve the parliamentary procedures and traditions.