The Impact of Women's Reservation Policy in Village Council: A Case Study of Zawlnuam Village Council.

Before the independence of India, village administration in Mizoram was managed by the chief. When the British arrived in 1890, they sought minimal involvement in local governance, keeping control in the hands of the chiefs under authority. After India gained independence, the constituent assembly created the North East Frontier (Assam) Tribal and Excluded Areas Committee, known as the Bordoloi Committee, to recommend an institutional structure for governing the hill regions of Assam. Following their guidance, district councils were established in each hill district. These recommendations were incorporated into Article 244(2) and became part of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Village councils were introduced in 1954 under the Lushai Hills District (Village Councils) Act of 1953. These councils represent grassroots democracy in Mizoram. Since the first elections, women have increasingly participated in village councils. The PV Narasimha Rao government passed the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, which reserved one-third of seats for women in rural and urban local bodies. In Mizoram, the Village Council (Amendment) Act of 2014, passed by the legislative assembly, mandated seat reservations for women. This paper aims to analyze the impact of seat reservations in Zawlnuam village councils, Mamit district.