Majority of Indians support women’s reservation in Parliament and state assemblies: News18 poll

Women’s reservation drew the highest support from the younger population.

The Women's Reservation Bill,  passed by the Parliament unanimously on September 21, 2023,  reserving 33 percent of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats for women, has found support from a majority of Indians, with 68 percent of those polled for a pre-election survey conducted by Network 18 saying they supported the move. Surprisingly, support from the rural population stood higher than from their urban counterparts—70 percent of respondents in rural areas supported the bill compared with 65 percent in urban areas.

A total of 1,18,616 respondents—64,453 men and 54,163 women—participated in the survey, which covered 21 states that account for 95 percent of all the Lok Sabha constituencies in the country. All the 518 Lok Sabha constituencies in these 21 states were covered in the study. In each of the Lok Sabha constituencies, 210 interviews were conducted with eligible voters. The field work was carried out from February 12 to March 1, 2024.

Women’s reservation drew the  highest support from the younger population. Sixty-eight percent of those in the 18-25 age group and 69 percent of those between 26 and 35 years of age said they supported the reservation bill. On average, 20-22 percent of all age groups opposed the bill.

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Among the survey’s findings, 59 percent of Christians, 58 percent Shia Muslims and 45 percent Sunni Muslims polled said they supported the bill. A huge 73 percent of Hindus polled were for the bill while the lowest support was shown by Sikhs, at 42 percent.

The issue found maximum support of 72 percent from people in the general category, followed by  OBCs (other backward castes) at 70 percent. The highest number of people who opposed the bill belonged to STs or scheduled tribes, at 27 percent.

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Support for caste-based quotas high 

When asked about their opinion on the Supreme Court putting a maximum limit of 50 percent on caste-based quotas in government jobs and educational institutions, 47 percent of men and 48 percent of women respondents said the cap should be set far higher.

The Opposition has been asking for quotas in proportion to the population of various castes.

Fifty percent of the respondents from the general category and scheduled castes segment said they would want a quota higher than the SC-mandated 50 percent, something 46 percent of STs and OBCs agreed on. Twenty-eight percent of STs said that the quota was too high and should be decreased. Only 16 percent of OBCs, followed by 14 percent of the general category, said that the caste-based quotas should be abolished. A meagre 14 percent of OBCs, 10 percent SCs and 8 percent STs said that the quotas should only be for economically weaker people and not based on caste.

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While the Constitution of India provides legal sanctity for reservation of certain classes, it does not specify how much this should be. In the Indra Sawhney case, which was also known as the Mandal Commission case, the court set the ceiling at 50 percent.

In 1992, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court passed a judgment in a public interest litigation challenging the central government’s plan to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission on reservation for backward classes. The court upheld the government’s decision to allot a 27 percent quota for backward classes.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court said, “Reservation being an extreme form of protective measure or affirmative action, it should be confined to a minority of seats. Even though the Constitution does not lay down any specific bar but the constitutional philosophy being against proportional equality, the principle of balancing equality ordains reservation, of any manner, not to exceed 50 percent.”

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The court said that while the 50 percent ceiling is the rule, it can be relaxed in extraordinary circumstances. For instance, if people living in far-flung and remote areas need to be given opportunities to be integrated with mainstream life, the rule can be relaxed. The court, however, cautioned that the rule can be relaxed only under extreme circumstances.