India, Aug. 10 -- The women's reservation law, passed three ago, is yet to be implemented as it remains trapped in a political maze linking census, delimitation and federal interests

Three years ago, Parliament did something it rarely does: agree unanimously. The Rajya Sabha passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, by 214 votes to none, promising a third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to women, with a further third of that share reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women. Six previous attempts had failed since 1996; this one finally succeeded.

What has still not happened, even now, is a single woman entering a legislature under its provisions - because the Act...