What is universal adult franchise? Class 8

What is universal adult franchise? Class 8

What is universal adult franchise? Class 8

Answer:

Universal Adult Franchise means that every adult citizen of a country has the right to vote, regardless of their caste, religion, gender, education or income. In India, this right is given to every citizen who is 18 years or older as mentioned in Article 326 of the Indian Constitution.

After India became Independent in 1947 the makers of our Constitution decided that all adults should have an equal say in choosing their leaders. That is why, from the very beginning. India adopted universal adult franchise as a core value of its democracy.

This was a bold and historic decision because at this time many other countries had not given voting rights to all their citizen. For example, women in Switzerland got the right to vote only in 1971, but Indian women were allowed to vote right from 1950.