Avinash Azad
For over a decade, “Nari Shakti” (women’s power) has been the cornerstone of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral narrative. From nationwide campaigns like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to sweeping rhetoric from the Prime Minister’s podium, the message has been clear: the empowerment and safety of Indian women is a paramount national priority.
Yet, a closer examination of the last 11 years reveals a stark contradiction between top-down political sloganeering and the ground reality of women’s safety, judicial accountability, and legislative intent. This dissonance reached a crescendo this week when a calculated move to fast-track women’s political reservation culminated in a humiliating legislative defeat for the Modi government, exposing the deep politicization of gender justice.
If the metric for empowerment is safety, the government’s track record requires intense scrutiny. Over the last 11 years, despite the introduction of stricter laws, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data paints a grim picture. Reported crimes against women have not witnessed the sharp decline promised by political campaigns; instead, in many categories, they have risen.
Policymakers argue that higher numbers reflect better reporting mechanisms, such as zero-FIRs and specialized portals, which encourage survivors to come forward. However, experts point out that increased reporting without an accompanying increase in rapid convictions offers little deterrence. India’s notoriously backlogged judicial system means that trials stretch for years.
The disconnect between policy and practice is perhaps most visible in the realm of political accountability. A persistent public grievance is the perceived immunity enjoyed by powerful political figures accused of heinous crimes against women.
While the ruling establishment points to the eventual life imprisonment of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar as proof that the law spares no one, critics argue that such justice is the exception, extracted only after sustained, nationwide public outrage. The systemic reality is that politicians with immense wealth, caste backing, and electoral utility frequently exploit legal loopholes to delay arrests and intimidate witnesses.
The prolonged, agonizing struggle of India’s top female wrestlers to secure action against a powerful parliamentarian over sexual harassment allegations cemented the public perception that the establishment’s instinct is to protect its own political capital first, and pursue justice second.
This prioritization of political utility over immediate empowerment is mirrored in the government’s legislative strategy. In 2023, the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill—promising a 33 percent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies—was celebrated as a historic triumph.
However, the fine print revealed a post-dated promise. The government explicitly tied the implementation of the quota to a future Census and a subsequent nationwide delimitation exercise. With the 2021 Census indefinitely delayed, the 33 percent reservation was effectively pushed to 2029 or beyond. The government reaped the immediate electoral credit of passing the bill in 2023 without having to actually surrender a third of its parliamentary seats in the 2024 general elections.
The political calculations behind the women’s quota were fully unmasked this week. With high-stakes state elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu looming, the Modi government suddenly convened a special parliamentary session.
The objective was to pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026. The government proposed delinking the women’s quota from future census data and instead using older 2011 figures to conduct a rapid delimitation, ostensibly to implement the 33 percent reservation immediately.
The timing and the method immediately drew fire from the Opposition INDIA bloc. Regional powerhouses like the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) accused the BJP of using women’s empowerment as a Trojan horse to fundamentally alter India’s electoral map. By linking the quota to a rushed delimitation, the government threatened to penalize Southern and Eastern states that had successfully controlled their populations, while expanding the political dominance of the Hindi heartland.
The opposition held its ground, arguing that true empowerment does not require gerrymandering. When the vote was called on April 17, the gambit failed. While the government secured 298 votes in favor to the opposition’s 230, it fell 54 votes short of the strict two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. It marked a rare and stinging defeat for the Modi administration.
The events of the past week, viewed alongside a decade of crime statistics and delayed justice, clarify the state of women’s empowerment in India. Women have undeniably become a highly prized vote bank, targeted with welfare schemes and grand legislative gestures. However, true empowerment cannot be tethered to delimitation exercises, delayed by census schedules, or compromised by the political utility of accused leaders. Until the machinery of justice works as swiftly for the ordinary woman as the machinery of politics works for the ruling elite, the promise of Nari Shakti will remain an illusion.
