Its complicated

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has called an all-party meeting to discuss the Womens Reservation Bill,a prelude to its inevitably dramatic reception in the monsoon session. If it goes through,one-third of all seats,in the SC/ ST and general categories,will be reserved for women in Parliament and state legislatures. Though the idea of reserving seats for women had come up during the nationalist struggle,the Constituent Assembly had rejected the idea as a patronising imperial imposition. However,as the years went by,it became obvious that patriarchal political parties were not going to take the initiative to open up routes for women to acquire and wield power. While women are split across community,caste and interest,they are also united by a common discrimination,and often face cumulative layers of disadvantage. And now,there is wide consensus that if there is to be a significant womens lobby for legislation,a quota is going to have to be carved out for them.

While the aim of the bill is an unreserved good,it will also have explosive and unsettling effects on our electoral democracy,which is why its passage has been such a wrenching process for 15 years. Many OBC leaders feared an elite takeover,which is rather unlikely. Others have pointed to design imperfections in the current bill. It raises troubling institutional questions for instance,it has been argued that a system of rotating constituencies leaches out democratic accountability and leaves too much to a political partys central decision-makers. It could weaken one of the few things that work the essential link between the electorate and the incumbent legislator. There has,till now,been little attempt to patiently work through these tangles,or look at alternative suggestions like multi-member constituencies or increasing representation within parties instead,so that every political party gives,say,a certain percentage of tickets to women. When the question was debated in Rajya Sabha,acquiescing parties issued whips,while opponents like the RJD,SP and JD(U) simply disrupted proceedings,giving up on parliamentary persuasion.

Now,in this last decisive stage of the Womens Reservation Bill,those contradictions must be seriously analysed by all parties. While many of the early reflexive objections can be swatted away (like the concern about the biwi/ beti brigade,which ignores the way privilege and nepotism have anyway been entrenched in Indian politics for the benefit of men),the question of electoral mechanics calls for thorough consideration by Lok Sabha.