3 days ago
90% Surveyed Migrants Outside Bihar Didn't Know of SIR: New Report Challenges EC's Official Line
New Delhi: A new report from the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN) details how Bihar's migrant workers experienced the state's recent voter roll revision, offering a perspective that differs from the Election Commission's official statements.
The report follows the conclusion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a process that flagged 64 lakh electors for potential deletion from the rolls. EC data also categorised 35 lakh voters as "migrated or untraceable."
The SWAN report, ' For a Few Documents More,' surveyed 338 migrant workers between July 19 and 21, the group most likely to be affected by these classifications, to detail their awareness of and preparation for the drive.
Information and awareness
The survey found that little information reached Bihar's migrant workforce. According to SWAN, 90% of migrant workers currently outside Bihar had not heard of the revision. Of these workers, 75% were unaware of the EC's online portal for submitting forms, and less than 1% had used it.
This left some workers uncertain. ' Aise kaise ho sakta hai ki ek form nahi bharne se vote nahi de payenge (How can it be that just by not filling one form, we won't be allowed to vote)? ' one worker asked. Another worker, Sujeet Ram, a 40-year-old from Vaishali now in Tamil Nadu, said, 'There are no jobs in Bihar, so we come here out of government should think about this. How will this work if they demand everything in such a hurry?'
Documentation and process
The report also examines the revision's document requirements. The survey found that 35% of all workers surveyed had none of the 11 specific documents the EC initially listed as proof of eligibility. It notes, however, that 96% of surveyed workers have an Aadhaar card and 83% have a Voter ID card, documents later ' suggested ' to be considered by the Supreme Court.
The survey also shows the drive was conducted inconsistently. Among households an official visited, 29% said the official collected a form with one of the 11 required documents. Another 45% said the official collected the form with just a copy of an Aadhaar or Voter ID.
The situation prompted some workers to return home. Saleem, a migrant worker in Mumbai, said he traveled back to Bihar because of the drive. "I heard in the news that people's forms were getting thrown away," he told surveyors. "My family and I cannot afford to have our names deleted from the list. That is why I came home to Bihar from Mumbai.'
Report's conclusions
The SWAN report states that these workers' experiences provide context for the EC's data, suggesting many of the "untraceable" voters are simply citizens working in other states.
The report also includes testimonies from workers concerned about the process. One Muslim worker said, "We have to keep proving our identity. It's like refreshing a phone... Our rights should not be snatched from us."
As Bihar begins a 30-day period for claims and objections over the 64 lakh flagged voters, the SWAN report concludes that the revision drive inverts the presumption of citizenship. It calls the findings a "signal of the potential threat of disenfranchising millions of people."
