Minto Morley Reforms of 1909: In a bid to appease the moderates and prevent the rise of radical nationalists, these reforms were introduced by the British. The reforms marginally increased the participation of Indians in the Legislative Council. The initial electorate base was only a small minority of Indian men authorised by property ownership and education. The reforms also introduced for the first time a separate electorate for Muslims popularly referred to as the Communal Award. While the presence of Indians in the Legislative Council increased, the British retained the executive veto over all legislation.

Montagu Chelmsford Reforms of 1919: These are credited with laying the genesis of responsible government in India. The Indian ministers along with the Governor could legislate on subjects like education, public health and sanitation, public works, local self-government etc but reserved subjects like land revenue administration, famine relief, administration of justice, law and order, newspapers, borrowing, forests etc. were kept only with the Governor. The reforms granted Indian men the right to vote provided they owned property, had taxable income, and paid land revenue of Rs. 3000. Voting rights for women were to be determined by the provincial councils. Madras Council was the first to grant women the right to vote.

Government of India Act, 1935: This Act formed the framework for the development of governance under independent India. It introduced the federal structure of governance and expanded the right to vote to include women as well. However, the criteria to be included in the electoral roll included being literate, having paid taxes, landholder, and being above 21 years of age and of sound mind. Widows of commissioned and non-commissioned officers were included, along with widows or mothers of qualified voters. Further, important subjects like defence, foreign policy, fiscal policy etc were retained by the British. The Act continued with separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, and Anglo Indians.

First Election post-Independence 1951-52: After becoming Independent in 1947, one of the biggest tasks for India was to hold the general elections. Preparations began once India became a republic in 1950. In March 1950, Sukumur Sen, a member of the illustrious Indian Civil Service was given the task of organising the first general elections for the country. The Representation of People’s Act was passed in 1951 to create the framework for the elections in the country. There were only two conditions required to be a voter now: 1) age of 21 years or above and 2) residing in the particular constituency for more than 180 days. Preparing the electoral rolls was a big challenge not only due to the vast population of India but also due to the porous nature of the border in light of partition.

Each voter had to be identified and registered. Sen encountered a novel challenge when it came to women voters. Due to existing social norms, most women refused to give their names and sought to be registered as someone’s wife or mother. Calling the practice a ‘curious senseless relic of the past’ Sen instructed his officers to record women’s names. This led to 2.8 million women voters being struck off the electoral roll for either not cooperating or being allowed to co-operate by their families.

The other major challenge was illiteracy: 84% of the population could not read or write. Thus, innovative methods like using large pictorial symbols to identify political parties were introduced. The second innovation was the use of multiple ballot boxes for different political parties. The turnout was 45.7 % with Kottayam district in Kerala recording 80.5 % voter turnout. Thus, India democratically elected its first independent government with Jawaharlal Nehru as the prime Minister in 1952.

Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said that despite technological advances 80% of the election system remains the same as created by Sen.

Elections and Emergency 1977: On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court found the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of corrupt practices and invalidated her election. The Court reasoned that Gandhi had utilised the government machinery to set up the stage and had employed a gazette officer Yashpal Kapur as her election agent. Gandhi immediately appealed the verdict and on June 24th 1975 was able to secure an interim stay allowing her to continue as a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha but depriving her of the right to participate or vote as an MP. She was also allowed to continue as the Prime Minister till the disposal of her appeal. The very next day she declared an emergency. The imposition of emergency led to the imprisonment of political opponents.

A day before the Supreme Court was to hear the appeal, the government passed the Thirty Ninth Amendment of the Constitution. The amendment I introduced a new Article 71 allowing the Parliament by law to regulate any matter related to the election of a President or Vice-President including the grounds on which such an election may be questioned.

The other amendment was the insertion of Article 329A wherein the Prime Minister was granted immunity from electoral laws applicable prior to the amendment. It stated that any dispute over the election of the Prime Minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha could be decided only by a body established by the Parliament and not the Supreme Court. It also noted that any election declared void by a court of law would still be valid and any appeal if pending would stand automatically disposed.

The Supreme Court was now hearing the appeal as well as the constitutional validity of the amendment. On November 7, 1975, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment as unconstitutional and in violation of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution as laid in the Keshavanand Bharti case.

Interestingly, it overruled the Allahabad High Court’s judgment and concluded that Yashpal Kapur had resigned from his post as was not a gazetted officer when he was Gandhi’s agent and had not committed any corrupt practice.

However, the Gandhi-led Congress was defeated in the 1977 elections by the Janta Party. The Janta Government passed the Disputed Elections (PM and Speaker) Act 1977 and bestowed the power of judicial review upon the Courts again.

Subsequently, there have been many reforms: Be it the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines, decentralisation of power through the Panchayati Raj system, the option of NOTA (none of the above) or the declaration of criminal antecedents by the candidates.

Ramchandra Guha in his book India after Gandhi noted that while a strong supporter of democracy Nehru also had his doubts. He wrote, “While speaking at the symposium he (Nehru) wondered loud...the quality of men who are selected by these modern democratic methods of adult franchise gradually deteriorates because of lack of thinking and the noise of propaganda.... He[the voter] reacts to sound and to the din, he reacts to repetition and he produces either a dictator or a dumb politician who is insensitive. Such a politician can stand all the din in the world and still remain standing on his two feet and, therefore, he gets selected in the end because the others have collapsed because of the din.”

Despite its flaws, there is no denying that a free and fair election is the heart of a thriving democracy. A politically conscious electorate has no better tool to hold the government accountable than the right to vote.

Parijata Bharadwaj, a lawyer and researcher based in New Delhi, co-founded the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group that offered legal services to adivasis in Chhattisgarh. The views expressed are personal.