Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 24 January 2026

Content

1. Delimitation After Census 2027: Rewriting India’s Democratic & Federal Balance
2. Right to Dignity and Equitable Pay: The Structural Injustice Faced by ASHA and Anganwadi Workers

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Delimitation After Census 2027: Rewriting India’s Democratic & Federal Balance

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Context and Central Argument of the Editorial

• Delimitation is a constitutionally mandated process to redraw electoral boundaries based on population changes.
• The next delimitation exercise (post Census 2027) will be the most consequential since Independence.
• It will redefine:
  • Distribution of Lok Sabha seats
  • Meaning of fair representation
  • Balance between democracy and federalism
• Editorial argues that delimitation is not a technical adjustment, but a deeply political and moral exercise.

Constitutional and Historical Background

Constitutional Provisions

• Article 82: Mandates readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after each Census.
• Article 170: Similar provision for State Legislative Assemblies.
• Core democratic principle: one person, one vote, one value.

Why Delimitation Was Frozen ?

• 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976
  • Froze inter-State seat allocation based on 1971 Census.
  • Objective: avoid penalising States that implemented population control.
• 84th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2001
  • Extended freeze till the first Census after 2026.
• Result:
  • Representation still reflects India of 548 million, not today’s ~1.47 billion.

Why the Upcoming Delimitation is Unprecedented ?

Scale and Scope

• First inter-State redistribution of seats since 1976.
• Will simultaneously:
  • Reallocate seats among States
  • Redraw all constituencies
  • Create 33% women-reserved constituencies (106th Amendment)

Time Constraints

• Past Delimitation Commissions took 3–5.5 years.
• Census 2027 data likely available by 2028.
• Realistic completion: 2031–32.
• Implication:
  • Women’s reservation unlikely before 2034 Lok Sabha elections.

Demographic Divergence and the Core Dilemma

Uneven Fertility Transition

• Southern & Western States
  • Below-replacement fertility.
  • Achieved through investments in:
    • Education
    • Health
    • Women’s empowerment.
• Northern States (UP, Bihar)
  • Higher fertility and population growth.

Projected Seat Redistribution

• In an expanded Lok Sabha (~888 seats):
  • Uttar Pradesh: 80 → 151 seats.
  • Bihar: 40 → 82 seats.
  • Combined share: over 26% of Lok Sabha.
• Tamil Nadu & Kerala
  • Absolute seats increase marginally,
  • But relative share declines sharply.

Moral Paradox Highlighted

• States that complied with national population goals risk political dilution.
• Raises question:
  • Should good governance be electorally punished?
• The rationale for the 1976 and 2001 freeze still holds relevance.

Political Assurances vs Structural Reality

• Assurance given (2025): “Not a single seat will be reduced for southern States.”
• Editorial critique:
  • Absolute seat retention ≠ real political influence.
  • Parliamentary power depends on numbers, not percentages.
• If UP + Bihar command over a quarter of the House:
  • Bargaining power of other regions inevitably declines.
• Either option risks:
  • Constitutional challenge (Article 14), or
  • Federal alienation.

Policy Options Examined in the Editorial

Option 1: Extend the Freeze

• Pros:
  • Preserves existing federal balance.
• Cons:
  • Violates equal suffrage.
  • Denies representation to fast-growing States.
  • Legally vulnerable.

Option 2: Expand Lok Sabha Strength

• Increase from 543 to 750–888 seats.
• No State loses seats.
• Limitation:
  • Population-heavy States still dominate numerically.

Option 3: Weighted Representation Formula

• Combine:
  • 70–80% population
  • 20–30% governance indicators (literacy, health, fertility control).
• Inspired by Finance Commission devolution formula.
• Rewards governance outcomes, not demographic inertia.

Option 4: Strengthen the Rajya Sabha as Federal Guardian

• Current issues:
  • Removal of domicile requirement.
  • Population-skewed seat allocation.
• Suggested reform:
  • Restore domicile.
  • Tier-based equal representation:
    • Large States – 15 seats
    • Medium States – 10 seats
    • Small States – 5 seats
• Objective:
  • Make Rajya Sabha a counter-majoritarian federal chamber.

Option 5: State Reorganisation

• Bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh into 3–4 States.
• Prevents dominance by a single mega-State.
• Treats Statehood as a federal balancing instrument, not just administration.

Option 6: Phased Delimitation

• Partial redistribution in 2034, remainder in 2039.
• Benefits:
  • Reduces political shock.
  • Allows gradual adaptation.
  • Respects constitutional mandate.

Impact on Federalism and Coalition Politics

• Concentration of seats alters:
  • Coalition arithmetic
  • Regional party leverage
• Risk of:
  • Over-centralisation of political power
  • Deepened North–South trust deficit
• Delimitation becomes a test of cooperative federalism.

Procedural Safeguards Emphasised

Composition of Delimitation Commission

• Must include:
  • Demographers
  • Constitutional law experts
  • Federalism scholars
  • Strong State representation.

Transparency and Safeguards

• Public consultations and hearings.
• Clear, uniform criteria.
• Concern raised:
  • SC constituency location involves discretion → risk of manipulation.
• Editorial suggests:
  • Apply objective ST-like formula to SC constituencies as well.

Way Forward

• Move beyond population-only arithmetic.
• Adopt hybrid representation models.
• Reinforce Rajya Sabha’s federal role.
• Ensure phased, transparent, consultative delimitation.
• Treat delimitation as a renewal of India’s federal compact, not a zero-sum contest.

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Right to Dignity and Equitable Pay: The Structural Injustice Faced by ASHA and Anganwadi Workers

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Context and Central Argument of the Editorial

• Ongoing protests by ASHA and Anganwadi workers in West Bengal demanding wages of ₹15,000/month highlight a systemic denial of labour rights.
• Despite being central to:
  • ICDS
  • National Health Mission (NHM)
  • Nutrition, maternal and child health outcomes
    these workers are still treated as “volunteers” or “scheme workers”, not employees.
• Editorial argues that this is not accidental neglect but a deliberate policy choice to bypass labour laws and fiscal responsibility.

Historical Evolution of Informalisation by the State

Origins under ICDS

• Under ICDS, Anganwadi workers were denied formal “worker” status from inception.
• This set a precedent for:
  • Expanding welfare delivery
  • Without expanding permanent public employment.

Judicial Reinforcement of Exclusion

• Karnataka vs Ameerbi (1996):
  • Tribunal ruling excluded Anganwadi workers from being government employees.
• Paradox:
  • Even as the Supreme Court expanded the Right to Food (2004),
  • The labour enabling this right remained unrecognised.

ASHA Programme and Semantic Dilution

• Introduced in mid-2000s.
• Workers labelled as “Activists”, not employees.
• Result:
  • High accountability
  • Low legal protection.

Ignored Consensus and Policy Regression

45th Indian Labour Conference (2010s)

• Tripartite consensus (Government–Employers–Unions) recommended:
  • Job regularisation
  • Minimum wages
  • Pension and gratuity for ASHA workers.
• Successive UPA and NDA governments did not implement these recommendations.

Fiscal Retrenchment

• 2015: ICDS budget slashed.
• 2018: Centre froze its contribution to honoraria.
• Consequence:
  • Workers absorb inflation and fiscal shocks.
  • Real wages stagnate despite rising workload.

Federal and Inter-State Inequities

Role of States

• States handle:
  • Hiring
  • Dispute resolution
  • Payment top-ups.
• Wealthier or politically pressured States:
  • Provide higher honoraria or additional benefits.
• Poorer States:
  • Unable to match → regional wage inequality.

Structural Federal Imbalance

• Central stagnation of funds + State fiscal constraints =
  • Unequal pay for equal work across India.
• Violates principles of:
  • Equity
  • Cooperative federalism.

Labour Codes and the Erosion of Social Contract

Scheme Workers and Gig Workers

• New Labour Codes:
  • Do not guarantee strong protections to gig and platform workers.
• ASHA/Anganwadi workers face similar precarity:
  • No minimum wages
  • No pensions
  • No job security.

Retreat of the Welfare State

• Editorial argues:
  • State prioritises fiscal headroom and business metrics
  • Over its role as a model employer.
• Represents a weakening of the social contract with vulnerable workers.

Constitutional and Ethical Dimensions

Constitutional Principles Involved

• Article 21: Right to life includes right to dignity.
• Article 23: Prohibition of forced labour (economic compulsion).
• Directive Principles:
  • Article 39: Just and humane conditions of work.
  • Article 41: Right to work and public assistance.

Ethical Issues

• Exploitation through:
  • Semantic reclassification (“volunteer” vs worker).
• Moral inconsistency:
  • Celebrating welfare outcomes
  • While invisibilising labour behind them.
• Denial of dignity to women-dominated workforce.

Why This Is Unsustainable for Public Welfare ?

• ASHA and Anganwadi workers are the backbone of:
  • Maternal mortality reduction
  • Child nutrition
  • Immunisation
  • Pandemic response.
• Chronic undervaluation risks:
  • Worker attrition
  • Declining service quality
  • Weakening of human development indicators.

Way Forward: Editorial’s Prescriptions

Legal Reclassification

• Reclassify ASHA and Anganwadi workers as statutory employees under:
  • Code on Social Security.
• Guarantee:
  • Minimum wages
  • Pension
  • Social security coverage.

Fiscal and Federal Solutions

• Centre must:
  • Resume and revise its contribution.
• Centre + States must:
  • Bridge fiscal gaps
  • Ensure equitable pay across regions.

Institutionalising Dignity

• Move from ad hoc honoraria to:
  • Rule-based employment protections.
• Treat welfare labour as:
  • Public service, not charity.

Conclusion

• A welfare state cannot be built on the systematic denial of dignity to its frontline workers.
• Recognising ASHA and Anganwadi workers as employees is not fiscal populism, but constitutional morality in action.
• Only by institutionalising rights, not discretionary honoraria, can India uphold the right to dignity it promises on paper.

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