India’s mass voter purge is hollowing out democracy
Summary
India’s Election Commission has removed over 130 million names from the voter list in a large-scale revision called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). This process has led to protests, with many people, especially from minority and marginalized groups, losing their right to vote.Key Facts
- More than 130 million names were deleted from India’s electoral rolls during the SIR.
- The SIR is a revision process done to update voter lists, but this one is much bigger and more controversial than before.
- Muslims, women, migrants, and other marginalized groups were disproportionately affected by the deletions.
- The Election Commission and ruling party defended the action using the term “purification.”
- Voters were required to provide many documents, which was hard for poor and less educated people.
- The SIR used technology and AI tools like ERONET to check for mismatches in voter information.
- Women often faced extra difficulties due to name or address changes after marriage.
- Many protesters called for the chief election commissioner’s resignation, and police cracked down on demonstrations.
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