What is meant by separate or communal electorate?

Answer 1

Communal electrote in the simplest of the terms means voters divided on the basis of community. The communities can be different religions, different castes etc. The voters of each community say Mulsim voters are allowed to vote for Muslim representatives only. This means that Hindu voters will not be able to choose a representative among the Mulsim candidates. They can vote for candidates among Hindu candidates only. This kind of electorate ensures that all the communities find a suitable representation at the end.