R ESERVATION OF CONSTITUENCIES We have noticed that in the FPTP election system, the candidate who secures the highest votes in a particular constituency is declared elected. This often works to the disadvantage of the smaller social groups. This is even more significant in the Indian social context. We have had a history of caste-based discrimination.
In such a social system, the FPTP electoral system can mean that the dominant social groups and castes can win everywhere and the oppressed social groups may continue to remain unrepresented. Our Constitution makers were aware of this difficulty and the need to provide a way to ensure fair and just representation to the oppressed social groups. This issue was debated even before independence and the British government had introduced ‘separate electorates’. This system meant Tajamul Husain, CAD, Vol.
VIII, p. , May “Separate electorates have been a curse to India, have done incalculable harm to this country… Separate electorates have barred our progress… We (Muslims) want to merge in the nation. ...for God’s sake keep your hands off reservation for the Muslim community.”