Key facts
- 130 million names have been removed from India's electoral roll through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
- Critics allege SIR is used to disenfranchise Muslims, minorities, and lower-caste communities.
- Protests have erupted nationwide, with thousands detained in Delhi.
- Opposition parties have petitioned the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- Shahida Fakir, a documented Indian citizen, was deported to Bangladesh after her name was removed from the voter list.
- Former election commissioners have called SIR a 'hostile exercise' and 'national harassment'.
Nationwide protests have erupted across India over the removal of an unprecedented 130 million names from the country's electoral roll through a process known as Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Critics allege that this exercise, overseen by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, is a politically motivated effort by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to disenfranchise Muslims, other minorities, and lower-caste communities, who are largely not BJP voters.
The government, however, maintains that SIR is a legitimate exercise to clean up the rolls by removing dead and duplicate names. Yet, the sheer scale of exclusions has sparked widespread anger and fear, with many living citizens finding their names missing despite possessing valid documentation.
Shahida Fakir, a 38-year-old migrant worker, exemplifies the concerns. Despite presenting her Indian birth certificate and family land documents, her name was removed from the final revised voter list. Subsequently, she was detained on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant and pushed across the border into Bangladesh, a country she has no connection to. A Bangladesh border guard officer confirmed her account and stated they were convinced she was an Indian citizen.
Opposition parties have decried SIR as a "weapon for vote theft" and have presented a petition to the Supreme Court demanding Kumar's resignation. They claim the process has already given the BJP an electoral advantage in states like Bihar and West Bengal. The election commission, under Kumar's unilateral decisions, has become the arbiter of Indian citizenship, a move critics deem a significant overreach.
Former chief election commissioners have also voiced strong criticism. Ronojoy Sen noted the erosion of the election commission's independence, while OP Rawat called changes to voter registration "wrong and illegal." SY Qureshi described SIR as a "national harassment exercise designed to throw Muslims off the electoral roll."