On Friday (April 17), the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, for delimitation and the subsequent application of 33% women’s reservation in the legislature was defeated in Lok Sabha. The Opposition primarily criticised it over the delimitation process and its advancement by the government. Back in 2023, parties across the political spectrum had lent their support to women’s reservation in the legislature with the passage of The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill. But the first nationwide quotas to ensure greater political participation of women came into effect in the 1990s. The Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 and The Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 took effect in 1993. They reserved 33% of the seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies, respectively. What prompted these Acts then, and what was the nature of political debates at the time? Here is a brief history. From committees, to states, to country First, it is important to understand the significance of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments. Before these Acts, India’s Constitution …