Separate Electorate
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In
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, a number of political positions and university posts are held for specific groups of the
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
, including Scheduled Castes(SC) and Scheduled Tribes(ST), and women in some cases. There are reserved constituencies both
Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and State Assembly elections. Scheduled Castes (usually abbreviated as SC), and Scheduled Tribes (usually abbreviated as ST) are castes and
tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
included in the schedules published by the government to indicate these castes' and tribes' backward status. All voters, including Non-SC, Non-ST community voters, have the right to vote for these candidates belonging to SC or ST candidate, if contesting from their
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
. About 25% of Indian population belongs to SC/ST communities. About the same ratio of seats are reserved for them in the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. In each
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
, that number will depend on the percentage of population and percentage of SC/ST amongst them. In local body elections, like municipal polls, in addition to SC/ST, other Backward Class candidates also have reserved seats. The constituencies are allotted by lottery system. In the case of municipal and other
local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...
s, the constituencies are known as wards. Thus, there may be as many wards or constituencies as the number of elected seats in the elected body. Reserved constituencies are constituencies in which seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Tribes based on the size of their population. In the earlier history of India under
British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...
, a separate electorate meant that not only were the seats reserved for a specific group, but voting for the reserved constituency was allowed for only members of that specific community. For example, only Muslims could vote for Muslim candidates in Muslim reserved constituencies.


Definition

An electorate is a group of voters encompassing all the officially qualified voters within a particular country or area or for a particular election. A joint electorate is one where the entire voting population of a country or region is part of a single electorate and the entire electorate votes for the candidates who contest in the elections. In the case of separate electorates, the voting population of a country or region is divided into different electorates, based on certain factors such as
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
,
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
,
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
, and occupation. Here, members of each electorate vote only for elected representatives for their electorate. Separate electorates are usually demanded by
minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
who feel it would otherwise be difficult for them to get fair representation in
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
. For example, a separate electorate for Muslims means that Muslims will choose their separate leader by separate elections for Muslims. The
Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...
entitles every citizen to elect representatives. The constitution-makers, however, were worried that open electoral competition would preclude less populous minority groups from election to the national and the state legislative assemblies.


Under British rule

In India's pre-independence era, in 1906,
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
demanded extra-proportional representation to seek parity with Hindus in sharing power with the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
; the British government provided for a separate electorate system to the Muslims in the Indian Councils Act of 1909. As a result, of the total 250 seats of the
Bengal Legislative Assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislatures of British India, legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal Presidency, Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It ...
, 117 seats were reserved for Muslims. Accordingly, the general elections of 1937 were held based on the extended separate electorates, where only Muslims voted for the 117 seats, in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. The system of separate electorates encouraged sectarian competition, sowing the seeds of the Pakistan movement. Again, in the Round Table Conferences in 1930–32, the concept of separate electorates for the Untouchables (SC) was raised by B. R. Ambedkar as a way to ensure sufficient representation for the minority SC communities in the government. This provision was strongly opposed by
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
because he believed the move would disintegrate
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
society. If the SC communities were given a separate electorate, then certain constituencies would have been reserved for them, and only the people belonging to SC communities would have been able to vote for candidates contesting those seats, thus alienating the rest of the Hindus. Eventually, a compromise was reached between Ambedkar and Gandhi with the Poona Pact, in which the parties agreed that certain constituencies would be reserved for the SC communities, where the people belonging to SC communities could elect four candidates per
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
who would then be candidates for election by the joint electorate.


Groups with reserved seats


Anglo-Indians

The
Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...
community was the only community in India that had its representatives nominated to the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
(
lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
) in the
Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...
. This right was secured from
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
by Frank Anthony, the first and longtime president of the All India Anglo-Indian Association. The President nominated two Anglo-Indian members to the Lok Sabha. Fourteen
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
(
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
,
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
,
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
,
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
,
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
and
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
) also had a nominated member each in their respective State Legislative Assemblies. Article 334 of the Indian Constitution gave reservation to the Anglo-Indian community. It was originally set to expire 20 years after the commencement of the Constitution, but was extended multiple times through constitutional amendments: to 1970 through the 5th Amendment, to 1980 through the 23rd Amendment, to 1990 through the 45th Amendment, to 2006 through the 62nd Amendment, to 2010 through the 79th Amendment, and to 2020 through the 95th Amendment. In January 2020, the Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Parliament and State Legislatures of India were abolished by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2019. The reason cited by the Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha was that the Anglo-Indian population in India was just 296 in the 2011 Census of India, though the number is disputed. The total number of Anglo-Indians is disputed with estimates up to 150,000. Some sources suggest a population between 75,000 and 100,000.


Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Several seats in the
Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...
, State Assemblies, urban and
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
-level institutions are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). These reserved seats are elected by all voters in a constituency, without a separate electorate. A member of an SC/ST is not debarred from contesting a general (i.e. non-reserved) seat. This system was introduced by the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...
in 1950 and was supposed to be in place for the first 10 years, to ensure participation in politics by these groups which were deemed weak, marginalized, under-represented and needing special protection. Under the 104th amendment to the Constitution of India, this reservation is to last until 2030 and is subject to extension with another constitutional amendment. The population figure of SCs in relation to the total population figure had increased from 14.6% in the 1971 census to 16.2% in the 2001 census. Similarly, the population figure of STs had increased from 6.9% in the 1971 census to 8.2% in the 2001 census. The overall increase in the population of SCs and STs in the 2001 census has led the Delimitation Commission to increase the seats for Scheduled castes in
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
from 79 to 84 and for Scheduled Tribes from 41 to 47 out of 543 constituencies, as per the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order of 2008. Allocation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha are made based on the proportion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state based on the state's population, as per Article 330 of the Constitution of India read with Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act of 1951.


Other Backward Classes

As per the enforcement of recommendations of the
Mandal Commission The Mandal Commission or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC), was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educatio ...
, the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) also receive reserved seats in the
Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
and Urban bodies election. Allocation of seats for Other Backward Classes are made based on the proportion of Other Backward Classes relative to the total state population.


Women

Women get one-third reservation in Gram Panchayats (meaning 'Village Council', which is a form of local rural government), Block Panchayats, District Councils and Municipal bodies. There is a long-term plan to extend this reservation to the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and State Legislature. The Women's Reservation Bill of 2010 proposed 33% of all seats in
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
and all State Legislative assemblies for women. It was passed in
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
on 2010. But was never voted on in the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
. In 2023 September, a similar bill Women's Reservation Bill, proposed to reserve 1/3 of all seats in
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
, and in all state legislative assemblies for women. It was passed in both
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
and
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
becoming a law. Between 1957 and 2019, before the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution of India, the former 89-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly had 2 seats reserved for the nominated women members. But after the passing of Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 it became 33%. Additionally, the Lieutenant Governor may nominate two representatives of Kashmiri migrant families to the assembly, one of which is reserved for woman.


Sangha and Bhutia-Lepcha seats in Sikkim

Sikkim was merged with India in 1975. The 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly has one seat reserved for a
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...
member. Only Buddhist monks and nuns belonging to the 111 registered Buddhist monasteries are eligible to vote and stand for this seat. Additionally, 12 seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly are reserved for the Bhutia-Lepcha ethnic people.


Other reserved seats

Some seats, rather than being reserved for specific groups, are chosen by other branches of the government.


Union government's nominees to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly

In the 33-member Puducherry Legislative Assembly, 3 members are nominated by the
Union government of India The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territo ...
.


Governor's nominees to the State Legislative Councils

A
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
can nominate up to 1/6 of the total number of members in a State Legislative council, the
upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...
of the state legislature in 6 states,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
and
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. These members are experts in the fields of art, science, literature and social service.


President's nominees to the Rajya Sabha

The President of India can nominate 12 members to the
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
. These 12 members are people who have expertise in art, science, literature and social service.


See also

* Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam * Reserved political positions * Proportionate representation


References

{{Reflist Elections in India Political history of India Reservation in India