Demography is destiny, and dozens of districts in India have already seen their destiny being shaped by those who aren't Indians. It is through elections that a nation shapes its politics and policy, and it is only fair that only genuine citizens get to decide on the course the country takes. For this, intensive scrutiny of electoral rolls, from time to time, is a must.
Article 326 of the Constitution ensures every Indian above the age of 18 shall be entitled to be registered as a voter, but the fundamental precondition is that the person has to be an Indian citizen. The Election Commission (EC) says it "has a constitutional obligation to ensure that only persons who are citizens" get to vote.
To ensure that, the EC needs to conduct intensive revisions of electoral rolls at regular intervals.
However, the recent political fireworks were sparked by the EC's announcement that it was starting a special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The intensive revision of electoral rolls is planned as a pan-India exercise and starts with Bihar, the state to go to the polls next.
On July 3, 11 INDIA bloc parties met Election Commission (EC) officials and raised concerns over the timing of the exercise. They alleged that over two crore voters of Bihar might get disenfranchised because they won't be able to provide the documents sought by the EC.
On July 06, the EC made it clear that while voters were required to "submit their documents anytime before July 25, 2025", those who failed to do so would get an opportunity "during the claims and objections period". The enumeration form has to be submitted to the Booth Level Officer (BLO).
The EC said in a statement on July 6 that 77,895 BLOs were involved in the house-to-house exercise, helping voters fill out enumeration forms and collecting them.
A revision of electoral rolls is an essential, legal and moral exercise, and was last conducted 20 years ago. Since then, only a summary revision of electoral rolls has taken place.
With the special intensive revision, the EC intends to hold rigorous door-to-door surveys and weed out illegal immigrants who might have surreptitiously sneaked into the voters' list.
India has 20 million Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, Kiren Rijiju, then junior Home Minister, told Parliament in 2016.
Bihar, other than states like Assam, West Bengal and Jharkhand, is reported to have witnessed large-scale illegal immigration, especially from Bangladesh.
Parts of Bihar, especially the Seemanchal region -- adjoining Bengal and Nepal -- are said to have seen an asymmetric growth in population. The region with four districts is not far from the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck, where Bangladesh territory juts in.
"The [Seemanchal] region, which is also considered the most backwards in Bihar, has a 47% Muslim population as against Bihar's state-wide average of 17%," according to a 2020 National Herald report.
The demography of Seemanchal districts like Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar and Purnea has enabled Bangladeshis to blend in seamlessly.
What is ironic is that the name Seemanchal itself reveals the change. The region was regarded as part of the larger Kosi-Mithila belt, and experts opine that the new nomenclature is a calculated move to create a sub-regional identity.
The region contributes 24 seats to Bihar's 243-member Assembly.
Bihar has 7.9 crore voters and will likely hold elections later. Currently, the BJP-led NDA is in power in the state, with JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar the chief minister.
The last intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar was conducted in 2003, over two decades ago.
The EC, in a statement issued on June 24, cited reasons like rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants for the revision of rolls.
In Bihar, the poll body is conducting a door-to-door exercise, which began on June 25 and will continue till September 30, to collect enumeration forms to verify genuine voters.
Of the 7.9 crore voters in Bihar, around 5 crore were in the January 1, 2003, last scrutinised list and only need to submit an extract from that roll. The remaining 2.9 crore voters must produce at least one document from a list of 11 documents.
The list doesn't include Aadhaar card, PAN and driving licence, generally used across India as ID proofs.
The simple reason is that none of these documents is proof of citizenship.
As voting in India is a right that comes with being an Indian, people will need to provide documents that prove they are citizens.
Government-issued identity card or pension payment order, birth certificate, passport, matriculation certificate, permanent residence, caste or forest right certificates are among the 11 documents that will work to prove date and place of birth.
List of 11 Accepted Documents for Voter Verification (for those not in 2the 003 Rolls)
| S.No. | Document Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identity card / Pension Payment Order of a PSU employee or pensioner |
| 2 | ID / Certificate / Document issued by government, local bodies, banks, post offices, LIC, PSU (pre-July 1, 1987) |
| 3 | A birth certificate issued by a competent authority |
| 4 | Passport |
| 5 | Matriculation / Educational certificate from a recognised board or university |
| 6 | Permanent residence certificate issued by the competent state authority |
| 7 | Forest Rights Certificate |
| 8 | OBC / SC / ST or any valid caste certificate |
| 9 | National Register of Citizens (NRC), wherever it exists |
| 10 | Family register |
| 11 | Land or house allotment certificate |
The EC has divided the voters into three categories for the verification drive. Each category needs to furnish a different set of documents.
The two significant years here are 1987 and 2004. In those last two years, India brought in laws to prevent illegal immigrants from gaining citizenship.
The EC exercise is aligned with the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003, which was notified in 2004, and the documents sought are according to the law.
Those born before July 1, 1987, are most likely to be on the 2003 revised voter list. They just need to submit the enumeration form with the extract of the 2003 roll, which has been made available online.
The 2003 voter list would be treated as the base document, with those on the list and their children using it to file the enumeration form.
Those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, have to provide one of the 11 documents for themselves, establishing the date and place of birth. And also provide any of the documents for one of the parents.
For those born after December 2, 2004, other than a document for themselves proving the date and place of birth, documents proving the citizenship of both parents are required.
| Category | Year of Birth | Required Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1: Likely on the 2003 voter list | Before July 1, 1987 | Only Enumeration Form (no additional documents needed if name is on the 2003 list) |
| Category 2: Self + One Parent's Proof | Between July 1, 1987 and Dec 2, 2004 | One of 11 Documents for self (date & place of birth) + One document for one parent |
| Category 3: Self + Both Parents' Proof | After December 2, 2004 | One of 11 Documents for self (date & place of birth) + Documents for both parents' citizenship |
In the case of Bihar, the EC has clarified that 60% of the voters don't need to furnish any documents after it uploaded the 2003 record on its website.
Though Bihar is the second most populous state after Uttar Pradesh, the record of births and issuance of certificates has been historically low.
However, that shouldn't be the case for those born in the 2000s. Also, officials and the EC are banking on the fact that the young voters will have one of the several listed documents.
Critics are also suggesting that the idea of a universal adult franchise will now get pegged around education, with a matriculation certificate being one of the basic documents suggested.
A bunch of petitions, including those by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and RJD MP Manoj Jha, have been filed against the SIR, and the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up the pleas on July 10.
According to several media reports, people were finding it difficult to provide one of the 11 documents mentioned in the list.
The Times of India on Monday cited an EC source to report that electoral registration officers (EROs) could "rely on field inquiry or alternative proof beyond the 11 documents listed by the EC for citizenship to decide on an elector's inclusion" in the electoral rolls.
There are two reasons why the long-overdue process has kicked up a political storm. One is the list of documents, and the other is the window in which the exercise is being conducted.
According to reports, the EC earlier conducted intensive revisions of electoral rolls six to eight months ahead of polls. The window in this case is three months at best.
However, the EC is confident that its well-oiled machinery is more than capable of conducting the exercise in the given period.
Other than the 77,895 block-level officers (BLOs), "20,603 BLOs are being appointed for the smooth and timely completion of the process," the EC said on July 6. Four lakh volunteers, including government officials and NCC cadets, were working in the field to assist "vulnerable populations", and 1.5 lakh booth-level agents of political parties were also helping out, it added.
Opposition parties are contending that the exercise, too close to the Assembly polls in Bihar, will not give an opportunity to those left out of the rolls, especially the poor and the unlettered, to challenge the decision and get back as voters in time.
They are calling it votebandi, which is following the notebandi (demonetisation) and deshbandi (lockdown).
The Congress alleges that the SIR of electoral rolls would lead to poor and tribal voters being disenfranchised. It says the exercise carries a huge risk of wilful exclusion of voters using the power of the State machinery.
It was the Congress itself that raised doubts over the electoral rolls after the 2024 Assembly election in Maharashtra.
Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan, better known as Pappu Yadav, has urged voters in Bihar's Seemanchal region not to cooperate with the BLOs conducting the SIR. He says the exercise could disenfranchise marginalised communities.
"Don’t show any documents; they will use these documents as an excuse to delete your vote," said the Lok Sabha MP, who is an Independent but supports the opposition INDIA bloc in Parliament. He has called a Bihar bandh on July 9 against the intensive revision of electoral rolls.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accused the EC of using the SIR to "secretly implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Bihar". Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress too alleged that the EC exercise was a "sinister move" to "bring NRC through the backdoor". The West Bengal CM called the exercise a scam.
The Trinamool Congress has also gone ahead and suggested that the EC treat the 2024 voter list as the base year for any revision of electoral rolls.
This is quite stunning coming from the ruling party of a state like West Bengal that has seen large-scale illegal immigration from Bangladesh. Regular rioting in Bengal, the latest of which was during anti-waqf law protests, has been blamed on the change in the demographics of its districts.
Making 2024 the base year would also legalise illegal voters who have made it to the electoral lists in the last 20 years.
The argument against the 11 documents is equally stunning. How can documents, like PAN and Aadhaar, which are issued declaring that they aren't proof of citizenship, be allowed to prove citizenship?
The value of a citizen's vote is sacrosanct. That is why the country also holds the delimitation exercise.
It must be ensured that only genuine citizens get to vote. The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is the only way to ensure that.
On July 6, the EC said that the initial phase of Bihar SIR had been completed. It said 1.69 crore or 21.46% of the total enumeration forms had been collected.
The SIR is a much-needed exercise, and the government should enable all genuine citizens to prove their citizenship. The EC has vowed that no genuine voter will be dropped from the vetted list.
If the electoral rolls aren't vetted now, or if the base year is changed, then there is a risk of illegal immigrants, and India has millions of them getting into or continuing on the electoral rolls.
The result will be people who have no stake in India's growth and those not rooted in the nation's ethos making decisions that will impact its politics and policy. India is at a crossroads, and it can't surrender to clamour. If the exercise isn't conducted now, it might be too late. However, it shouldn't be a rushed exercise.
