In regard to the rest, I also wanted to propose an amendment to clause (6) that illiteracy should also be regarded as one of the grounds for not giving a vote on the basis of adult suffrage. If a person is illiterate, he should not be granted the right to vote. As a matter of fact, my idea in moving this amendment was not to deprive any persons of their right of voting, because I am very much in favour of adult suffrage. I wanted that as the elections are not coming on before another two years or one year, by that time, every elector should educate himself and could at least know how to read and write, as in my opinion reading and writing can be acquired by any person in three months. It will give a great fillip to the drive for adult education and to the electors to make an attempt to know how to read and write, if we condition the exercise of the right of voting to literacy. When I consider, Sir, the number of electors which will come on the electoral roll if we allow the basis to be adult suffrage, I am astounded by the magnitude of the problem. According to calculations, I understand that there will be something like twelve crores of voters. In a population of thirty crores, it is not a wrong estimate to think that the number of voters may be twelve crores. If there are 500 representatives, it means that each constituency will consist of at least 240,000 voters, if there are single members constituencies. If there are multi-member constituencies, then if a constituency is formed for the purpose of electing four members, there will be something like 960,000 voters. At the present time, in ordinary elections for the Central Legislative Assembly, we had from 8,000 to 40,000 voters. With this increase of numbers, I shudder to think how we will be able to arrange for the elections. It will require, not one or two days as at present for the elections; it will require, I think, about a month. The number of booths will be very large. I think the magnitude of the problem is such that it must give serious cause for doubt whether we would be able to hold these elections in the manner in which we want them to be held. How will this large electorate be educated? How will you approach these electors so that the elections might be good. When I consider that there is a proposal to have multiple constituencies, and reserved constituencies, the situation becomes all the worse. So far as I thing, at present, a person belonging to the Depressed Classes, etc., is known only in his Taluka; he is not known over several districts. If the Constituency is spread over several districts, I do not know how the elections would be real. The electors will never have occasion to know who the person elected is. Therefore, to obviate this difficulty, I would suggest, for the first ten years, just limit this right of voting to literate people. We will be doing a thing which will be really useful. Otherwise, in my humble opinion, these elections will be a great farce. Therefore, my submission is that if the House is so advised, we should have the provision of literacy put in clause (6).
