Firstly, in spite of the ignorance and illiteracy of the large mass of the Indian people, the Assembly has adopted the principle of adult franchise with an abundant faith in the common man and the ultimate success of democratic rule and in the full belief that the introduction of democratic government on the basis of adult suffrage will bring enlightenment and promote the well-being, the standard of life, the comfort and the decent living of the common man. The principle of adult suffrage was adopted in no lighthearted mood but with the full realisation of its implications. If democracy is to be broad based and the system of governments that is to function is to have the ultimate sanction of the people as a whole, in a country where the large mass of the people are illiterate and the people owning property are so few, the introduction of any property or educational qualifications for the exercise of the franchise would be a negation of the principles of democracy. If any such qualifications were introduced, that would have disfranchised a large number of the labouring classes and a large number of women-folk. It cannot after all be assumed that a person with a poor elementary education and with a knowledge of the three Rs. is in a better position to exercise the franchise than a labourer, a cultivator or a tenant who may be expected to know what his interests are and to choose his representatives. Possibly a large scale universal suffrage may also have the effect of rooting out corruption what may turn out incidental to democratic election. This Assembly deserves to be congratulated on adopting the principle of adult suffrage and it may be stated that never before in the history of the world has such an experiment been so boldly undertaken. The only alternative to adult suffrage was some kind of indirect election based upon village community or local bodies and by constituting them into electoral colleges, the electoral colleges being elected on the basis of adult suffrage. That was not found feasible.
