Page 24 - Leap of Faith inside pages with cover (1)

Leap of Faith Journey of Indian Elections

changed the formation of the councils in three respects –
In 1885, Lal Mohan Ghose (1849-1909), became the first Indian to a) numbers
contest in a British general election- or any Parliamentary election b) proportion of official and non-official members and
whatsoever. He stood on Liberal Party ticket from the Deptford
c) methods of appointment or election.
constituency. ough Ghose lost to his rival W.J. Evelyn, he remained
Under the regulations of 1909 (amended in 1912) official
the precursor to numerous South Asians entering British Parliament. In
members must have majority in the Governor General's
1893, Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) became the first Indian to enter
Council and non-official members in provincial councils
the House of Commons by contesting from Central Finsbury
viz. Bombay, Bengal, United Provinces, Bihar and Orissa,
constituency on a Liberal Party's ticket. Punjab, Burma and Assam.
The Government of India Act, 1919 introduced the
concept of direct elections to the legislature despite on a
Dufferin's gradualist policy led to enactment of the Indian
limited franchise based mostly on property rights. The
Councils Act, 1892. The Act promulgated during the
statute, popularly called the Montagu-Chelmsford
Viceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne (Vide its Section 1)
reforms, introduced a bicameral legislature at the Centre
increased the number of additional members a) from 10 comprising the Governor General and two chambers viz.
to 16 in Governor General's Council and b) between eight
Council of State and the Legislative Assembly. Edwin S.
and 20 in various provincial councils. These additional
Montagu, Secretary of State and Lord Chelmsford,
members -vide Regulations under Section 1 (4)- were to be
Governor General of India, in their report, emphasized
elected by body corporates like municipal corporations,
upon the need to develop the concept of individual voter
university senates, district local boards, association of through exposure to political training.
merchants etc. It was an indirect form of elections on
However, there existed no electoral law in India. Therefore,
limited institutional franchise though the word “election”
was never used in the statute. the government used the power allowed to it under
Sections 7 and 21 of the Government of India Act, 1919 to
The first time the word “election” was used in a statute make rules prescribing the qualification of electors, the
was the Indian Councils Act, 1909. The legislation formation of constituencies and methods of elections etc.

“At present electorates of a general character hardly exist. Almost all are designed to represent special classes or
interests and consists of very few persons. ose which represent Muhammedans were intended to be fairly inclusive
but even those are limited to few hundred electors. e much larger electorates that will now be set up, though still a
mere fraction of the population, will be devoid of political experience. e habit of considering political issues to be
decided by a man's own judgment, of realizing their value of the proper use of a vote and judging candidates with
regard to their fitness to represent the elector's views have all to be acquired”

(An extract om Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms, 1918)

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