To secure political justice, the Constitution of India has adopted the system of:

The Constitution secures political justice by giving every adult citizen the right to vote, without discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, education or property.

Political justice in the Preamble:

• The Preamble promises to secure to all citizens justice: social, economic and political.
• Political justice means that all citizens have equal political rights, equal access to political offices and an equal voice in government.
• The ideal of social, economic and political justice was taken from the Russian Revolution (1917).

Constitutional provision:

• Article 326 provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage.
• Every citizen who is at least 18 years old and is not otherwise disqualified (for example, on the ground of unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt practices) is entitled to vote.

Reduction of the voting age:

Originally, the voting age was 21 years.

The 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988 reduced it to 18 years. It came into effect in 1989.

Significance:

India adopted universal adult suffrage from the very first general election in 1951 to 1952, at a time when literacy was low. This was a bold step, as many Western countries had expanded voting rights only gradually.

It made the Indian democracy one of the most inclusive in the world.

It supports the principle of "one person, one vote".

Related provisions:

• Article 325 provides that there shall be only one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency, and no one can be excluded on the ground of religion, race, caste or sex.
• National Voters' Day is celebrated on 25 January, the foundation day of the Election Commission of India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Separate electorates were introduced by the British (Indian Councils Act, 1909) and were abolished by the Constitution.
• ✗The Lok Sabha is directly elected, not indirectly.
• ✗A property-based franchise existed under British rule, when only a small fraction of people could vote.