India's Reservation Bill for Women: All You Need to Know | Vantage with Palki Sharma
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses a pivotal day in India's democracy, as lawmakers convened in the new Parliament building for the first time. Amidst speculation about the session's purpose, the Prime Minister revealed the government's plan to introduce the Women's Reservation Bill. This bill aims to reserve one-third of electoral seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and union territories, empowering female representation in Indian politics. The script delves into the historical background of this proposal, tracing its roots back to the 1970s and various attempts by previous governments. With the BJP's brute majority in Parliament, the bill now has a high chance of becoming a reality, potentially ushering in a new era of gender equality in Indian democracy.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ The Indian Parliament met for the first time in a new building, inaugurated in May 2023.
- 🇮🇳 This unexpected special parliamentary session revealed the government's plan to introduce the Women's Reservation Bill.
- 👩💼 The bill aims to reserve one-third of all electoral seats in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and union territories for women.
- 📈 This reservation will extend to seats reserved for backward communities like Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC).
- 🌍 The bill is necessary to address the gender imbalance in Indian politics, with women making up only 15% of Lok Sabha seats.
- 🚀 India already has a similar reservation for local elections, which has empowered women at the grassroots level.
- ⏳ The implementation of the quota will follow a three-step process: census, delimitation, and then the actual reservation.
- 📆 The timeline for implementation is unclear, with estimates ranging from 2026 to 2029, due to potential delays.
- 🌳 The roots of the proposal date back to the 1970s, when a UN report prompted India to examine its progress on gender equality.
- 🗳️ Despite previous attempts by various prime ministers, this time the bill has a higher chance of success due to the BJP's brute majority in Parliament.
Q & A
Why was the recent parliamentary session in India considered a surprise?
-The recent parliamentary session was a surprise because it was called as a special session, but the government did not specify the reason for calling it, leading to speculation about what the government planned to do.
What did the Prime Minister reveal in his first speech in the new Parliament building?
-In his first speech in the new Parliament building, the Prime Minister revealed that the government had passed the Women's Reservation Bill in the Cabinet and introduced it in the Lok Sabha.
What is the purpose of the Women's Reservation Bill?
-The purpose of the Women's Reservation Bill is to reserve one-third of all electoral seats for women in India, including in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and union territories.
How does the reservation of seats work under the proposed bill?
-If a state has 100 seats, one-third (around 33 seats) will be reserved exclusively for women candidates. Women can contest in these reserved seats as well as other unreserved seats, but these 33 seats are exclusively for women.
Why is the Women's Reservation Bill considered necessary in India?
-The bill is considered necessary to address the gender problem in Indian politics, where women make up only 15% of Lok Sabha seats and 14% of Rajya Sabha seats, with many states having less than 10% women in their legislatures.
What is the current status of women's representation in local bodies in India?
-In local bodies, India already reserves one-third of the seats for women, with 44% of local representatives being women, higher than many countries like France, the UK, Germany, and China.
What is the proposed implementation process for the Women's Reservation Bill?
-The proposed implementation process involves three steps: conducting a census, redrawing constituencies (delimitation) based on the census data, and then implementing the women's quota. The process is likely to take several years.
When did the idea of a women's quota in Indian politics originate?
-The roots of the women's quota proposal date back to the 1970s when a government committee found that India had failed to ensure gender equality, triggering a debate on reservation for women.
What was the objection raised by parties representing the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community?
-The OBC parties feared that OBC women would lose out since seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) but not for OBCs, and that upper-caste women would dominate the quotas.
What factors contribute to the likelihood of this bill being passed now?
-The BJP government has a brute majority in Parliament and does not need to deal with coalition politics, and women's reservation was one of their campaign promises in 2014 and 2019, increasing the chances of the bill being passed.
Outlines
🏛️ India's New Parliament Building and Women's Reservation Bill
This paragraph introduces the significance of India's new Parliament building, which was inaugurated in May 2023 but held its first proceedings today. It also discusses the surprise special session called by the government, leading to speculation about its purpose. The Prime Minister's speech revealed the government's plan to introduce the Women's Reservation Bill, which aims to reserve one-third of all electoral seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and union territories, including reserved seats for backward communities.
🗳️ The History and Implementation of Women's Reservation in India
This paragraph delves into the history and necessity of the Women's Reservation Bill in India. It highlights the gender problem in Indian politics, with women making up only a small percentage of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. It explains the quota system already in place at the local level, which has empowered women and improved gender representation. However, as the hierarchy increases, representation decreases, with only one female chief minister across 28 states. The paragraph also discusses the roots of the proposal dating back to the 1970s, the UN's request for a report, and various committees and attempts by Prime Ministers to implement the quota over the decades, facing opposition and delays. It also addresses the concerns of the OBC community about the impact on their representation. Finally, it expresses optimism that the BJP's majority in Parliament and campaign promises could lead to the realization of the Women's Reservation Bill, ushering in a new era of Indian democracy.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Parliament
💡Special Session
💡Women's Reservation Bill
💡Reservation
💡Census
💡Delimitation
💡Quota
💡Panchayat Raj
💡Rajya Sabha
💡OBC (Other Backward Classes)
Highlights
Today, India's lawmakers met in the new Parliament building for the first time, inaugurated in May 2023.
The current Parliament session was a surprise, not a routine session, and there was speculation about the government's agenda.
The Prime Minister's speech revealed the government's plan to introduce the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which reserves one-third of all electoral seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and union territories.
The bill aims to correct the gender problem in Indian politics, where women make up only 15% of Lok Sabha seats and 14% of Rajya Sabha seats.
The reservation has already empowered women at the local level, with 44% of local representatives being women, higher than many other countries.
However, at higher levels, the representation of women is low, with only one out of 28 states having a female chief minister.
The quota will apply to the Lok Sabha but not the Rajya Sabha, and to state assemblies but not legislative councils.
The implementation of the quota will proceed in three steps: census, delimitation, and then the quota, which could take until 2026 or 2029 to roll out.
The roots of this proposal date back to the 1970s, when a government committee found that India had failed to ensure gender equality.
In the 1980s, the idea gained political backing, and in 1992, the quota was implemented partially at the local level.
In 1996, Prime Minister Deve Gowda tabled the proposal for a one-third quota in all elected bodies, but some parties objected due to concerns about OBC representation.
Every prime minister since then has tried to revive the effort, but the bill faced challenges and was only partially successful.
This time, the BJP has a brute majority in Parliament, and the women's quota was a campaign promise, increasing the chances of the proposal becoming a reality.
The implementation of the women's quota could usher in a new era of Indian democracy.
Overall, the transcript discusses India's efforts to address the gender imbalance in politics through the introduction of a constitutional amendment to reserve one-third of electoral seats for women.
Transcripts
the Canada dampener aside today was a
very important Day in India we often say
that the parliament is the Temple of
India's democracy and today India got a
new Temple for the first time India's
lawmakers met in the new Parliament
building this one
it was inaugurated back in May 2023
but today the proceedings began not
without a farewell to the old house
though
the MPS first met in the central Hall of
the old Parliament the Prime Minister
spoke so did the Lok Sabha speaker and
opposition leaders and then they walked
to the new building
now this current Parliament session had
surprised many it's not a routine
session it was supposed to be a special
one
usually governments call these special
sessions for a specific reason to pass a
certain bill or to discuss something
that's very urgent
but this time the government did not say
why why was the session called hence
there was speculation and everyone had a
theory about what the government would
do today the Prime Minister ended all of
that his first speech in the new
building revealed the government's plan
the women's reservation Bill listen to
this
foreign
[Music]
foreign
the cabinet passed the bill yesterday
and today it was introduced in the Lok
Sabha the 128th Constitutional Amendment
Bill what does it do it will reserve one
third of all electoral seats for women
in India
in the Lok Sabha in the state assemblies
and in union territories
let me explain with numbers imagine
there is a state with 100 seats now if
this bill is passed one-third of these
seats will be reserved for women that's
around 33 seats in these seats only
women candidates can contest and they
can contest in other seats as well but
these 33 are exclusively for women
it will apply to reserved seats as well
you see Indian legislatures have seats
reserve for backward communities like
scheduled tribes and scheduled castes
one third of these will also be reserved
for women not all women only women from
that community
now let's get some questions out of the
way why was this necessary and if it
wasn't obvious I will tell you why
politics has a gender problem in India
women make up only 15 percent of all Lok
Sabha seats in the rajya Sabha that's 14
percent
Indian states have the same problem at
least 17 states have less than 10
percent women in their legislatures
how do you correct this in an ideal
world political parties would do more
they would put up more women candidates
they would cultivate more women leaders
since that is not happening India is
betting on the next best thing and that
is reservation in fact
we already do this in local elections
India reserves one-third of the seats
for women like your panchayat Raj system
or your city corporations
and this quota has empowered women
India has around 3.2 million local
Representatives
1.45 million of them are women 1.45
million local Representatives 86
000 women head their local bodies they
call the shots
in fact India is actually doing better
than most countries at least at the
local level
around 44 of our local representatives
are women 44 in France is 40 percent in
the UK 34 in Germany 27 and in China 23
percent
so India's plan has worked
but as you grow go up the hierarchy it
hasn't
we have 28 states in India only one of
them has a female chief minister only
one one in 28.
the goal is to correct this by extending
the quota to all elected legislatures
and elected is a key word here because
this quota will apply to the Lok Sabha
but not the rajya Sabha similarly it
will apply to State assemblies but not
State Legislative councils
and when will this roll out not anytime
soon the Bill calls for three steps in a
particular order first census second
delimitation and then quota
India's last census was held in the year
2011. the one in 2021 was delayed by the
Wuhan virus pandemic so the first step
is to do another census and based on
that redraw constituencies only then can
the women's quota be implemented
and how long will that take the
government has not set a deadline not
that we know of some say it's 2026
others say 2029 perhaps but delays aside
it would be a huge step forward and we
say about time
the roots of this proposal date back to
the 1970s
the United Nations asked the Indian
government for a report then the 1970s
they wanted to see our progress on
gender equality so the government of
India set up a committee and what it
found was not encouraging the committee
said that India had failed to ensure
gender equality and this triggered a
debate several states began reserving
seats for women they thought it would
solve the problem
in the 1980s this idea got political
backing
in 1987
prime minister Rajiv Gandhi formed a
committee on gender equality this
committee had 353 recommendations one of
them was women's quota
in 1992 this proposal was implemented
only partially though one third of the
seats in local bodies were reserved for
women but State assemblies in the
parliament were left untouched in 1996
Prime Minister David actually devagoda
went one step ahead he tabled the whole
proposal one-third of seats in all
elected bodies
now most of the parties agreed to this
idea but some holdouts remained
especially parties representing the OBC
community
the other backward classes OBC
and what was their objection you see
seats are reserved for the SC and St
community
but not for the OBC
so the fear was that OBC women would
lose out that upper caste women would
dominate the quotas
and so the bill was told
since then every prime minister in India
has tried to revive this effort atal
bihari rajpayee tried twice no luck on
one occasion MP snatched the bill from
The Minister's hand they tore it up Dr
Manmohan Singh also tried and he had
partial luck in 2010 the women's
reservation bill was passed in the rajya
Sabha but it never reached the Lok Sabha
so will this time be different well
women's quota was a bjp's campaign
promise both in 2014 and again in 2019
plus they have a brute majority in
Parliament so no Coalition business
which means the proposal will now be a
reality it could usher in a new era of
Indian democracy
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