Placing the earliest first, arrange the following countries in the chronological order in which they granted universal adult franchise: 1. USA; 2. Sri Lanka; 3. Japan; 4. India.
- (a)1, 2, 3, 4
- (b)2, 3, 4, 1
- (c)1, 3, 4, 2
- (d)3, 4, 1, 2
Correct — B, 2, 3, 4, 1 (Sri Lanka, then Japan, then India, then the USA). On the standard NCERT framing, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) granted universal adult franchise in 1931, Japan in 1945, India with the commencement of its Constitution in 1950, and the United States extended an effective universal franchise to Black citizens through the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That yields the order 2, 3, 4, 1.
- (a)1, 2, 3, 4 — This puts the USA first; on the NCERT dating that removed racial barriers only in 1965, the USA comes last, not first.
- (c)1, 3, 4, 2 — This again starts with the USA and wrongly pushes Sri Lanka (1931) to the very end.
- (d)3, 4, 1, 2 — This starts with Japan (1945) and moves Sri Lanka (1931) to the end, reversing the two earliest.
Universal adult franchise means the right to vote for all adult citizens without bars of property, gender or race. Different countries reached it at very different dates, and the ordering here follows the NCERT account.
The soft point is the USA. It is textbook-dated here to 1965 (removal of racial barriers to voting), not to 1920 (women's suffrage). If one dates the US franchise to 1920, the order would change — but on the exam's NCERT framing the USA is placed last, and the answer holds on that basis.
- Sri Lanka (Ceylon) adopted universal adult franchise in 1931 under the Donoughmore reforms — early for Asia.
- Japan granted universal adult suffrage, including to women, in 1945.
- India provided universal adult franchise from the commencement of its Constitution in 1950.
- The US Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed the barriers that had kept many Black citizens from voting.
- 1931 — Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Donoughmore reforms (item 2)
- 1945 — Japan (item 3)
- 1950 — India, on the Constitution's commencement (item 4)
- 1965 — USA, Voting Rights Act removes racial barriers (item 1)
Earliest to latest gives 2 – 3 – 4 – 1, option (b).
- Dating the US universal franchise to 1920 (women) rather than 1965 (removal of racial barriers), as the exam expects.
- Assuming older or wealthier democracies must have granted universal suffrage earliest.
A chronological-order item on when countries adopted universal adult franchise, hinging on the disputed US date.
Which among the following countries was the earliest to give women the right to vote?
- (a) Iceland
- (b) India
- (c) New Zealand
- (d) USA
Answer(c) New Zealand
Same concept — the timeline of extending the franchise across countries. UPSC asks who granted women the vote earliest (New Zealand, 1893); this NDA item orders four countries by when they reached universal adult franchise.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Universal adult franchise in India is provided under which Article of the Constitution?
- (a)Article 324
- (b)Article 325
- (c)Article 326
- (d)Article 330
Answer(c) Article 326 — elections on the basis of adult suffrage.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which country was the first in the world to grant women the right to vote, in 1893?
- (a)USA
- (b)New Zealand
- (c)United Kingdom
- (d)Australia
Answer(b) New Zealand.