FRANCHISE IN INDIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21668, 11 June 1932, Page 12

FRANCHISE IN INDIA

VAST INCREASE OF VOTERS LONDON, June 2. Vast increases in the number of the native electors, votes for millions of women, and representation for the “untouchables ” are among the recommendations of the Franchise Committee of the India Round Table Conference. The main proposals of the committee, over which Lord Lothian presided, are as follow:—To raise the numbers of the present electorate of provincial Legislatures from 7,108,000, or 2.8 per cent, of the population, to 36,000,000, or 14.1 per cent,; and for the British-Indian portion of the proposed Federal Legisature from’ 1,142,000, or 0.4 per cent., to 8,440,000, or 3.3 per cent, of the population; to enfranchise 6,600,000 women, as opposed to 315,000 at present, and to reserve between 2 per cent, and 5 per cent, of seats in the enlarged provincial Legislatures for women members; to give substantially increased representation to Labour. In the chapter dealing with the principles underlying their proposals, the committee state that they have been more concerned to secure the best possible distribution of voting power than to enfranchise any preconceived percentage of the population. The two general qualifications proposed are property qualification—which is well understood, and. generally approved in India—and education. Regarding special qualifications, onefifth of the electoral roll will consist of women, and proposals are made to ensure a certain number in the Legislatures. In the case of Labour, the qualification is lowered to enfranchise large numbers of industrial employees in the towns, and provision is made for their direct representation in the Legislatures. The “depressed classes ’’ are defined to include the “untouchables,” who cause pollution to caste Hindus by touch or approach, and are denied access to Hindu temples.