Separate electorate
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[edit] Definition
An electorate is a body of people in a country or region, who have the right of voting to elect a representative to the government, like an M.P. etc.
A joint electorate is one where the entire voting population of a country or region is part of a single electorate, and the entire electorate votes for the candidates who contest elections.
In the case of separate electorates, the voting population of a country or region is divided into different electorates, based on certain factors like religion, caste, occupation etc. Here, members of each electorate votes only to elect representatives for their electorate. Separate electorates are usually demanded by minorities who feel it will difficult for them to get fair representation in government, in a joint electorate.
[edit] Example
For example, in India’s pre-independence era, when the Muslims in India demanded fair representation in power-sharing with the British government along with the Hindus, the British government provided for a separate electorate system for the Muslims. As a result, of the total 250 seats of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, 117 seats were kept reserved for the Muslims. Accordingly, the general elections of 1937 were held on the basis of the extended separate electorates, where only the Muslims voted for the 117 seats, in Bengal.
Again, in the Round Table Conferences in 1930-32, the concept of separate electorates for the Untouchables (also called Dalits) was raised by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, as a way to ensure sufficient representation for the minority Dalits, in government. This provision was strongly opposed by Mahatma Gandhi on the grounds that the move would disintegrate Hindu society. If the Dalits were given a separate electorate, then certain constituencies would have been reserved for them, and only the Dalits would have been able to vote for the candidates contesting those seats, thus alienating the rest of the Hindus. Finally, a compromise was reached where there were certain constituencies reserved for the Dalits, where the Dalits could elect 4 candidates per constituency who would then be candidates for election by the joint electorate.
