Women’s Quota Deferred, Justice Denied

The Supreme Court’s exasperation over the inordinate delay in implementing women’s reservation in Parliament and State Assemblies is both timely and justified. More than a year has passed since the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam—promising 33 percent reservation for women—was enacted and signed by President Droupadi Murmu. Yet, like so many promises to women, this one too remains only on paper. The government’s explanation is that the law will come into force only after the next census and the subsequent delimitation of constituencies. Nobody knows when these will take place. It is a convenient bureaucratic smokescreen designed to indefinitely postpone what should have been a historic reform. If general elections can be held without a fresh census or delimitation, there is no earthly reason w