reservation
Under Art. 330, seats are to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha. Originally, this reservation was to operate for ten years from the commencement of the Constitution. But this duration has been extended continuously since then by ten years each time. Now, under the Amendment of the Constitution, enacted in 1999, this reservation is to last until January 25, 2010 [Art. 334(a)].
The reservation for Lok Sabha seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes has to be made in each State and Union Territory on population basis. The number of Lok Sabha seats reserved in a State or Union Territory for such Castes and Tribes is to bear, as nearly as possible, the same proportion to the total number of seats allotted to that State or Union Territory in the Lok Sabha as the population of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (excluding the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam) in the concerned State or the Union Territory bears to the total population of the State or the Union Territory [Art. 330(2)].
Similarly, under Art. 332(1), seats are to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (excluding the tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam) in the State Legislative Assemblies. Under Art. 334(a), this reservation is to operate until January 25, 2010. The seats reserved for such Castes and Tribes in a State Legislative Assembly are to bear, as nearly as possible, the same proportion to the total number of seats in the Assembly as the population of such Castes and Tribes the State bears to the total State population.