The origins of the separate electorate can be traced back to British India, when the foreign regime acquiesced to the demands presented by the Islamists to facilitate their communal agenda. The British Parliament's Indian Councils Act 1909, also referred to as the Morley-Minto Reforms, proposed the creation of distinct electorates for Muslims.
Although Rahul Gandhi suggested that a believer in Manusmriti would have a problem with the Constitution, it is interesting to note that BR Ambedkar cited Manu to garner support for his Hindu Code Bill in 1949.