Committed To Students & Nation ¡¡ Aware,Awakened, Active & Determined Individuals Can Bring Change!!

Policy of reservation in India is not new. However, the demand of women reservation is something we all have to ponder together upon because this is capable of bringing about change in the entire political & social scenario of India.
The issue of reservation for women is different in India than in any other nation because the Indian Constitution has already provided quotas for the backward caste & tribes which are socially, politically & economically backward (SC, ST & OBC reservation). These quotas are for an assortment of things, starting from admissions to educational institutions, to getting a public sector employment and also political representation. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments provided for 33% quota for women representation in the local self-Government institutions (Panchayti Raj).

Implementation of these amendments came into practice from 1993. They were enacted without any pressure or persistent demand from women or any other section. Prior to these Amendments the State of Karnataka had introduced 25% women’s quota in Panchayati Raj Institutions. Later, the State of Maharashtra passed a law providing for 30% reservation of seats for women in rural as well as urban local self-government institutions. It is curious that in spite of over 1,000,000 elected women representatives flooding the local governments, the women’s movement in India was totally silent over this issue till 1996.
The smooth passage of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments encouraged all major national political parties to commit themselves to extending the 33% women quota to state legislatures and Parliament. The 81st Constitutional Amendment Bill, popularly known as the Women’s Reservation Bill, was introduced in the Parliament in 1996 to that effect.

There was no women movement & demand behind this Bill. Later on, after the debacle of this bill in XI Lok Sabha ,the women rights activists  became vocal and visible on this issue. This visibility was restricted to demonstrations in front of parliament. Many political parties spoke in favor of this bill but till date no such reservation is given to women in the Lok Sabha and/or Vidhan Sabha elections.

Women Reservation Bill: A Brief Introduction

1. As nearly as about one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies shall be reserved for women.

2. Reservation shall apply in case of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as well.

3. Seats to be reserved in rotation will be determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat shall be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections.

Main Drawbacks of the Women Reservation Bill:

1. Rotational reservation of one-third seats is the most serious flaw in the Bill. The pre-election nursing of a Lok Sabha or State Assembly constituency involves a very heavy investment on the part of the political parties and individual aspirants. Rotational reservation of one-third of the seats exclusively for women would lead to a grave uncertainty for sitting male MPs eroding their meticulously developed political base and leaving them no scope to pursue politics as a life-long mission or career.

2. This is harmful for the political career of an individual politician as well as for the process of the development of national level leaders with towering personalities. This would dwarf the popularly elected political leadership and strengthen the bureaucracy.

3. The Bill also ignores an important recommendation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 81st Amendment Bill about extending reservation to Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils that was incorporated in the Clause 21 of its Report.

4. The Bill turns women’s quota into a zero sum game where women would get seats only if male MPs were removed from one third of the constituencies.

Passing the Bill in its present form would mean a political suicide for the sitting male members of the Parliament. It also means that this bill will hamper the political position of regional, small political parties, which may lead to situation of political unrest in the Union of India.

Here I would like to put forward an example of the Student union elections after the implementation of Lyndoh committee guidelines by Ho’nable Supreme court.

Earlier, a candidate was allowed to contest election more than one time and in such a situation the elected representatives worked among the students because they were aware that if they will not work, they would loose the chance of being re-elected. However, the new guidelines restricted candidature for only one time whether you win or loose, and that resulted in the sudden downfall in the functioning of the Students Union because they became aware that they couldn’t contest again.