The Tarkunde Committee was an important committee on electoral reforms in India. It was appointed in 1974 by Jayaprakash Narayan on behalf of the organisation Citizens for Democracy and submitted its report in 1975.
It was headed by Justice V. M. Tarkunde, a former judge of the Bombay High Court and a well-known civil liberties advocate.
The committee is important because it made some of the earliest systematic recommendations for making Indian elections more free, fair, transparent and independent.
Background
By the 1970s, concerns were growing about the influence of money power, misuse of government machinery, weak voter awareness and lack of transparency in elections.
The period was politically sensitive. India was witnessing mass movements, especially the JP Movement, and there was increasing debate around corruption, authoritarian tendencies and electoral malpractice.
The Tarkunde Committee emerged in this context. It tried to suggest reforms that could protect electoral democracy from executive influence, financial manipulation and unfair practices.
Major Recommendations
The committee gave several recommendations to strengthen the electoral process.
It recommended lowering the voting age from 21 years to 18 years. This was much ahead of its time. India later accepted this idea through the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988, which reduced the voting age to 18.
It suggested that the Election Commission should be made more independent. The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners should not be controlled only by the executive.
It recommended that the Election Commission should be a multi-member body, so that electoral decisions do not depend on one individual alone.
It also supported stronger control over election expenditure and wanted greater transparency in the use of money during elections.
Important recommendations included:
• Lowering voting age from 21 to 18
• Making the Election Commission more independent
• Creating a multi-member Election Commission
• Appointment of Election Commissioners through a broader consultative process
• Stronger control over election expenditure
• Checking misuse of official machinery
• Better maintenance of electoral rolls
• Voter identity cards to reduce impersonation
• State funding or support for recognised political parties in limited forms
• Use of media time for political parties during elections
Election Commission Reforms
One of the most important aspects of the Tarkunde Committee was its focus on the independence of the Election Commission.
The committee argued that free and fair elections require an Election Commission that is insulated from the ruling executive. If the government has excessive control over appointments, the neutrality of the Commission may come under doubt.
This idea remains relevant even today in debates around the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, especially after the Anoop Baranwal judgment, 2023 and the CEC and EC Appointment Act, 2023.
The committee’s concern was simple: the Election Commission is the umpire of elections, so the appointment of the umpire should not be dominated by one side.
Electoral Rolls and Voter Identity
The committee also focused on the accuracy of electoral rolls.
Faulty electoral rolls can lead to exclusion of genuine voters and inclusion of bogus voters. This affects the fairness of elections.
The committee recommended better maintenance of electoral rolls and supported the idea of voter identity cards. This was meant to reduce impersonation and ensure that every genuine voter could participate.
Today, voter ID cards and electoral roll purification are regular parts of India’s election management system.
Money Power and Election Expenditure
The Tarkunde Committee warned that excessive election spending could distort democracy.
If elections become too expensive, candidates with money power get an unfair advantage. This can also increase corruption because candidates may try to recover election expenses after winning.
The committee recommended stricter monitoring of election expenditure and greater transparency in campaign finance.
This issue remains highly relevant today because money power, opaque political funding, election expenditure and electoral bonds have all become central to debates on Indian democracy.
Importance
The Tarkunde Committee was significant because many of its ideas later became part of India’s electoral reform debate.
Its recommendation to reduce voting age to 18 was eventually implemented.
Its proposal for a multi-member Election Commission also became relevant later. India now has a multi-member Election Commission consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
Its concerns about money power, electoral rolls, misuse of official machinery and independence of the Election Commission remain important even today.
The committee’s importance lies in the fact that it treated elections not merely as a voting exercise, but as a complete democratic process requiring fairness, transparency and institutional neutrality.
Limitations
The Tarkunde Committee was not a government-appointed committee. It was set up by Citizens for Democracy, so its recommendations did not have the same official status as a parliamentary or government committee.
Many recommendations were not implemented immediately. Some were adopted later, while others remain part of continuing reform debates.
Major limitations included:
• Non-official nature of the committee
• No binding power over the government
• Limited immediate implementation
• Some recommendations required constitutional or legal changes
• Campaign finance reforms remained weak
Despite this, the committee had strong intellectual and democratic importance.
Conclusion
The Tarkunde Committee was one of India’s earliest major efforts to reform the electoral system. Its ideas on lowering voting age, strengthening the Election Commission, improving electoral rolls and controlling money power continue to remain relevant for Indian democracy.
