Universal Adult Suffrage in India

Universal Adult Suffrage in India The right of the people to vote and elect their representatives is called franchise. Adult franchise means that the right to vote should be given to all adult citizens without the discrimination of caste, class, colour, religion or sex. It demands that the right to vote should be equally available among all. To deny any class of persons from exercising this right is to violate their right to equality. the system of adult franchise is the bedrock of a democratic system. People are called political sovereign because they possess the right to vote a government into power, or to vote a government out of power

What does Universal Adult Suffrage mean? The Article 326 of the Indian Constitution grants universal adult suffrage, according to which, every adult citizen is entitled to cast his/her vote in all state elections unless that citizen is “convicted of certain criminal offences” or “deemed unsound of mind.” As per this concept, the right to vote is not restricted by caste, race, sex, religion or financial status. Definition: Universal adult franchise basically means every citizen in a state has the right to vote and participate in the election process regardless of his/her religion, caste, gender, sex, etc. In India every citizen above the age of 18 has been given the right to vote. Universal adult franchise enables all citizens to be involved in the governance of their state. They do so by electing their representatives who govern to serve and protect the interests of the people.

Article 326 Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be on the basis of adult suffrage.— The elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election. mailGoogle+WhatsApp

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Evolution World context

Evolution Developments Leading to Adoption of Universal Adult Suffrage During the pre-independence era, only 13 per cent of Indian citizens used to enjoy the right to vote. The demand for universal adult suffrage had been gaining momentum few decades prior to the independence. The Motilal Nehru report was among the first proponent of “unlimited adult franchise and equal rights for women.”

It was in 1928 when Dr B.R. Ambedkar appeared before the Simon Commission and insisted on incorporating universal adult franchise in the Constitution of India. According to him, elections were “a weapon in the hands of the most oppressed sections of society” and voting rights will give them the politico-legal equality. Ambedkar found a like-minded colleague in Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, who also subscribed to his liberal views. Later, the Indian National Congress called for political equality at the 1931 Karachi session. The party argued that it would be one of the crucial strides towards making the electoral process more participatory and inclusive. There were doubts in the minds of our constitution makers and the issue of adult franchise was debated in the Constituent Assembly by many senior leaders before it abolished all the previous restrictions and provided for universal adult suffrage.

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Paradoxically, our Constitution which provides for Universal adult suffrage was drafted by a Constituent Assembly that was composed of members elected by restricted franchise. The Motilal Nehru report of 1928 advocated unlimited adult franchise and equal rights for women.

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The resolution of the 1931 Karachi session of the Indian National Congress adopted a resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy which encapsulated the notion of universal adult franchise.

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India adopted the principle of universal adult franchise when the present Constitution was enacted in 1949 which as you know was implemented on January 26, 1950. Read from “Social and Political life – III” CLASS VIII NCERT for evolution

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World context 

The western countries, which are known for their long experience of some sort of representative system of governance, introduced adult franchise only in the wake of the First World War (1914 – 18), a war which was proclaimed to be fought by the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France and United States and the allies) to make the ‘world safe for democracy’.

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The ‘defeated’ Germany incorporated the principle of universal adult franchise in 1919, it took nine more years for Great Britain to Democracy at Work extend franchise to women in 1928. In 1918, Britain had granted franchise to limited number of women. It was decided that while all adult men, 21 years of age and above would have the right to vote, women only above the age of 30 years could possess the right to vote. This discrimination was removed only in 1928.

 France, the land that gave the popular slogans of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, could introduce the right of universal adult franchise to its people only after the end of the Second World War i.e. 1945.  Switzerland, the home of direct democracy denied the right to vote to women till 1973.  India adopted the principle of universal adult franchise when the present Constitution was enacted in 1949 which as you know was implemented on January 26, 1950.

Age of voting across the world 

The voting age varies from country to country.

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years.

In Denmark and Japan, a person, man or woman, is entitled to vote after attaining the age of 25

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In Norway, the age limit is 23, in Great Britain, the United States, Russia and Turkey it is 18.

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In Switzerland, it is 20 years.

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In our country, now the minimum age for exercising franchise is 18 years. The 61st Amendment Act lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years.

Importance of Universal Adult Suffrage The introduction of universal adult suffrage is considered one of the most important decisions that changed India for the better. Granting voting rights to all is no mean achievement for the founding fathers of Indian Constitution, especially Dr B.R. Ambedkar. It provided the government with “unchallengeable legitimacy against any military intervention” or secessionist movements. Besides achieving gender equality by giving women the right to vote, it eliminated untouchability and ensured equal opportunities for backward class people as well. The concept of universal adult suffrage along with free and fair voting are looked upon as the “guarantors of minority rights.” It also had a trickle-down impact on poverty alleviation. By allowing voting rights to all citizens, the poor found an opportunity to choose the political administrators and increase the scope of governance at a local level. The direct outcome is prosperity at grassroots level and development of infrastructure. Another significant transformation that has become evident over the years is the representation of backward sections in Parliament. The composition of the members of Parliament has changed to include individuals from those communities, who become the voice of the oppressed.

Q. Why did India the concept of universal adult suffrage? Has it succeeded? Discuss the role of Election Commission in implementing universal adult suffrage concept. Q. Critically analyse the working of democracy in India since independence. Q. India’s democratic experiment is largely hailed as a success. To which factors do you attribute this success? What else needs to be done to address some of the problems affecting India’s democratic system? Discuss.