Reconfiguring Representation: Caste Census, Delimitation & Women’s Reservation – Where Are We Headed?
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Shaurya Singh Yadav, LLB (Hons.), University of Lucknow
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the intersection of three imminent constitutional and political developments in India: the 2027 caste census, the planned constituency delineation in 2026, and the introduction of a one-third reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies under the 128th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023. These are the three impending constitutional and political developments in India that are examined in this paper. Even though each measure has important democratic and representational ramifications on its own, when they combine, they produce difficult political and legal conundrums. The constitutional framework governing representation and the historical freeze on delimitation imposed by the 42nd, 84th, and 87th Amendments are the first topics of analysis. From the final official census in 1931 to the contentious Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 and current state-level surveys, it then charts the development of the caste census. The paper also assesses how the Supreme Court's rulings—specifically, Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, R.C. Poudyal v. Union of India, and Kuldip Nayar v. Union of India—may affect the possibility of expanding reservations beyond Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This includes potential calls for OBC quotas in legislatures and private sector reservations. In order to place India's distinctive model of caste-based representation in a global context, Comparisons between the US Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Malaysia's Bumiputera policies are considered. The study concludes that the concurrent implementation of the census, delimitation, and women's reservation poses a constitutional challenge as well as a chance to realign India's democratic system with respect to equality, federal balance, and constitutional morality.
Keywords: Caste Census, Delimitation, Women’s Reservation, Indian Constitution, Representation, 42nd Amendment, 84th Amendment, 87th Amendment, 128th Amendment, Indra Sawhney, Federalism, Electoral Reform, Affirmative Action, Constitutional Morality.
