Question 6 The table below gives the proportion of different communities among the candidates who won elections to the US Congress. Compare these to the proportion of these communities in the population of the US. Based on this, would you suggest a system of reservations in the US Congress? If yes, why and for which communities? If no, why not. Proportion of the community (in per cent) in the Proportion of the community (in per cent) in the House of Representatives Population of US Blacks 8 13 Hispanics 5 13 Whites 86 70
Class 9 - Social science - Electoral Politics Page 75
Answers
There is no reservation for any community in the American Congress. Reservation is in fact against the democratic principles. Democracy is based on the principle of equality. Every citizens enjoys one vote and every vote has equal value. Reservation for any community creates sense of disunity and factionalism. If representation is to be given in accordance with the percentage of the population then it is better to adopt proportional representation method.
In India Anglo Indian community has less than 2% of the total population but two seats have been reserved for them in the Lok Sabha.
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Explanation:
Some seats can be reserved (as in India) for the Blacks and Hispanics as they can't send their representatives taking the percentage of their population in view. For example, Anglo Indian community has hardly 2% of the total population. However, to give them represen tation 2 seats have been reserved for them in the Lok Sabha.