Much is being said about poor representation for women in the Legislative Assembly, but the erstwhile Mysore State ruled by the Wadiyars had the concept of reserved seats for women before Independence.
A committee set up by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar had constituted a committee for reforms in 1938 under the chairmanship of Dewan Bahadur Srinivasa Iyengar. The famous Kannada writer D.V. Gundappa was also a member of this ‘Committee on Constitutional Reforms – 1939’.
Most of the proposals of the committee were aimed at making the body more representative in terms of adequate representation to rural folk, and minorities which included Muslims, depressed classes and Indian Christians, besides special interest groups such as planters, miners, universities, and labour. The most interesting recommendation of the committee was exclusive reservation of 11 seats for women of which one was to be reserved for a Muslim woman, and another for one from the depressed classes. The Bangalore and Mysore urban constituencies were marked for this internal reservation among women.
The committee suggested exclusive but universal electorate of women to elect these 11 candidates as against the joint electorate constituency recommended by some members. Finally, it was decided that women representatives will be elected by women’s associations for some time.
