Summary: The notion that parliaments perform a vital role in the legitimation of a
political system is difficult to empirically substantiate. However, this notion underlies
much legislative research and continues to inform public debate on the significance of
parliament. My research re-orients the study of legislative behaviors using a
performance-oriented lens (or analytical frame). Using the example of
debates/interactions on the Women's Reservation Bill (a proposal to reserve 33% of
seats in the Indian Parliament that has seen numerous incidence of physical
disruption in parliament), I attempt to 'read' performed rituals of legislation and
physical disruption as the production of political narrative. Within this imaginary
landscape whereupon symbolic notions of nation, gender, and self intermesh, I
interpret modes of performance behind multiple (often conflicting) versions of what or
whom is legitimate, and examine how the most successful/accepted notions acquire
the status/acceptance they enjoy.