5 min readApr 10, 2026 06:14 AM IST First published on: Apr 10, 2026 at 06:14 AM ISTThe women’s reservation debate in India did not start in 2023 with the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam but has been a continuous dialogue going back to the national movement. In 1931, Begum Shah Nawaz and Sarojini Naidu wrote a letter to the British PM in which they said, “To seek any form of preferential treatment would be to violate the integrity of the universal demand of Indian women for absolute equality of political status.” They were clear that they did not seek preferential treatment. Similarly, in 1947, freedom fighter Renuka Ray said, “We always held that when the men who have fought and struggled for their country’s freedom came to power, the rights and liberties of women, too, would be guaranteed…” Women’s reservation was raised in the Constituent Assembly debates but was deemed unnecessary, as women and men were to have equal rights as Indian citizens.In the following decades, however, it became clear that the space for women had shrunk. In 1951, only 5 per cent of MPs elected were women, and in 2024, it was still a mere 14 per cent.AdvertisementAs a consequence, women’s reservation has become a recurrent theme in policy debates. The Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI), established in 1971 by the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare and headed by Phulrenu Guha, was tasked with evaluating women’s rights and social status. Its landmark 1974 report, ‘Towards Equality’, revealed declining sex ratios, limited education, and marginalised economic status — strongly influencing policy to promote gender equality. In 1989, PM Rajiv Gandhi introduced a constitutional amendment Bill to reserve one-third of the seats in local bodies for women, but it failed in the Rajya Sabha. In 1992/1993, the 73rd and 74th amendments were passed — leading to more than 14.5 lakh women serving as elected representatives in local bodies today. Attempts were made to reserve seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2008.In 2023, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhinayam, to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women in assemblies and Parliament, was passed unanimously. But did this change anything for women in terms of representation? No, as the numbers will tell you. Despite their support for the Bill, parties have not acted in its spirit. In the Lok Sabha elections the following year, only 14.4 per cent of state parties’ candidates and 11.8 per cent of national parties’ candidates were women. Around 27.6 per cent of Lok Sabha constituencies had zero women candidates. According to a recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, among 4,666 MPs/MLAs across the country, only 464 are women.In this month’s state elections in Kerala, which has 140 constituencies, the CPI(M) has fielded 12 women candidates, Congress nine, BJP 14 and CPI five. The IUML has allotted two seats to women for the first time. In West Bengal, the TMC has 52 women in its list of 291 candidates. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK has allocated 18 of 164 seats to women and the AIADMK 20 of 167.AdvertisementThe support from all parties for the reservation law in 2023 had come with serious concerns about the timing as it came just months before the 2024 election. It seemed the BJP was only aiming for political mileage, because once passed, it would only be applicable from the 2029 general election. Opposition parties also highlighted the problems of linking women’s reservation to the census and delimitation.The NDA government now finds itself in a bind as the census process has barely begun after several delays, and delimitation will not be completed before the 2029 election. Hence, it is now proposing a 50 per cent expansion in the size of the Lok Sabha (from 543 seats to 816) and state assemblies to accommodate the 33 per cent commitment.The decision to extend the budget session has once again led to the timing being questioned. As is the case whenever important legislation is introduced, the Opposition was not taken into confidence, with individual parties only being approached through unofficial channels. Even now, all information that is shared comes via sources or media leaks. The INDIA bloc has asked for an all-party meeting to understand what the government is proposing to do and how it plans to implement this before presenting the amended Bill in Parliament. The government has not heeded the request and has announced, through sources, the proposed dates to discuss and pass the legislation — April 16 to 18, in the middle of five elections and just before West Bengal and Tamil Nadu vote.you may likeThis again shows that the BJP does not believe in consultations to build consensus. However, for opposition parties, it is a catch-22. If they question the intent and timing, the BJP will be able to build a narrative that the Opposition is against women’s reservation. If they agree, they will be seen as submissive.But here is a reminder to both sides: The women of the country have waited for decades. Together, we were part of the historic support for the reservation law. The BJP and its allies cannot walk away with all the credit for tweaking the Act. It is time to let the women of the country know that support for representation was our collective promise. And it is time we redeemed our pledge.The writer, a former Rajya Sabha MP, is with Shiv Sena (UBT)