Gender and Democracy Lexicon

This lexicon was published in January 2024 by Kuviraa India, an organization that engages adolescent girls and young women in civic and political discourse. This working document, slated to be updated every few years, categories and defines key terms relevant to Indian politics. It was drafted by Anaan Farooq and designed by Geenia Fernandes and Sijal Sagarika.

The lexicon employs a feminist lens to also explain women’s position and role in governance. From local administrative terms to national- and state-level concepts, it presents ideas which would enable a foundational understanding of feminist political discourse. 

This 19-page document is divided into eight sections: Introduction (Section 1); Important democratic and social terms (Section 2); National-level terms and positions (Section 3); State-level terms and positions (Section 3); Local-level terms and positions (Section 4); Feminism and gender (Section 6); India’s major political parties (Section 7); Acknowledgements (Section 8).

The following are 10 terms which are especially relevant to present times:

Alliance: A formal or informal agreement between two or more political parties to cooperate in an election or on specific issues.

Constitution: A set of fundamental principles or established precedents guiding a country's governance.

Electoral Voting Machine (EVM): A machine that uses electronic technology to record and count votes.

Federalism: The distribution of power between the central government and the states in a federation.

Fundamental Rights: The basic rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Indian citizens by the Constitution.

Gender Dysphoria: Distress experienced by individuals whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth.

Parliament: The supreme legislative body in India, consisting of two houses – Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of State

Reservation: Policies allocating a certain percentage of opportunities for historically underprivileged or marginalized communities.

Right to Information (RTI): Legislation allowing citizens to request information from public authorities.

Secularism: The principle of separating religion from state affair.

PARI Library’s health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.