A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlemet, the action of parler (to speak): a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which such a discussion took place. It acquired its modern meaning as it came to be used for the body of people (in an institutional sense) who would meet to discuss matters of state.
India
Ancient Indian, Vedic texts mention of two Parliament-like gatherings of the Indo-Aryan kingdoms called the Sabhā and the Samiti. During the time of theBuddha, many states were forms of republics, called the Sanghas. The Sabha has been interpreted by the historians as a representative assembly of the elect—the im portant men of the clan, which ran day-to-day business with the king. The Samiti seems to be a gathering of all the male members of the kingdom, and probably convened only for the ratification/election of a new king. The two largely democratic institutions, which kept a check on the absolutism of the king, were given a sacred position, and have been called the daughters of the deity Prajapati in the Vedas, the holiest of all Hindu scriptures and the earliest Indo-European literature. However, these democratic institutions became weaker as republics became larger and elected chieftainship moved towards hereditary and absolute monarchy. The Sabha and the Samiti bear almost no mention in later literature. After this, India would not have any democratic legislature till the British times with such bodies as the Central Legislative Assembly, a step in the direction of the modern democratic Parliament of India, the two Houses of which still bear the ancient name of Sabha.
Sansad Bhavan, the Parliament of India building, is located in Delhi
Countries Name of Parliament
| Afghanistan | Shora |
| Bangladesh | Jatiya Sangsad |
| Bhutan | Tsongdu |
| Bulgaria | Narodna Subranie |
| Myanmar (Burma) | Pyithu Hluttaw |
| Denmark | Â Folketing |
| Ethiopia | Â Shergo |
| Finland | Eduskusta |
| Germany | Bundestag (Lower House) Bundestrat (Upper House) |
| Greenland | Landstraad |
| Iceland | Althing |
| India | Lok Sabha (Lower House) Rajya Sabha (Upper House) |
| Indonesia | Majlis |
| Iran | Majlis |
| Israel | Knesser |
| Japan | Diet |
| Malaysia | Dewan Rakyat and Dewan, Negara |
| Maldives | Majlis |
| Mongolia | Great People’s Khural |
| Nepal | National Panchayat |
| The Netherlands | The Staten General |
| Norway | Storting |
| Poland | Sejm |
| Spain | Cortes |
| Surinam |  Staten |
| Swaziland | Liblandla |
| Sweden | Riksdaq |
| Swizerland | Federal Assembly |
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