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The Wire
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
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."
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bihar SIR: survey of 338 migrant workers finds that over one-third of them do not have documents sought by EC
Around 68% of the migrant workers from Bihar working in different parts of the country do not have the correct information on the documents required for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls that is currently under way in the State, according to a study. Nearly 35% of them not have any of the 11 documents required for the exercise, the study found. A phone survey of migrant workers from Bihar was conducted by the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN), a volunteer-driven initiative that was started in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. SWAN, in a statement, said that the survey was conducted among 338 migrant workers from their database from July 19 to July 21 this year. In the statement, SWAN said that even though their sample 'is not a statistically representative survey', 'the findings provide strong evidence of the challenges faced by migrant workers as those who migrate away from home are most susceptible to documentation deficits'. The Election Commission (EC) is currently in the process of finishing the special intensive revision, which was announced last month, even as the State readies to go to polls no later than November this year. The EC requires that anyone not featuring in the 2003 electoral rolls must submit one of 11 documents such as birth certificate, school-leaving certificate, caste certificate, passport, etc. This list does not include documents like Aadhaar, voter id, or PAN cards, which are accepted while applying for most of the 11 prescribed documents. SWAN said that it found that among the respondents, there were 248 individuals who were residing elsewhere. Of this, 75% 'had not even heard of the online portal to submit the enumeration form for SIR', adding that they found just two of these people had submitted the forms online. Further, it found that out of 333 respondents, 53% said that an official had visited their homes in Bihar for the SIR, 23% said no official had visited their homes, and about 24% said they were not aware if officials had visited their homes. Even among those who reported that officials visited their homes, around 45% said that the officials collected the forms with a copy of their Aadhaar card or voter ID, and 29% reported that the forms were collected with one of the prescribed 11 documents. The survey further reported finding that Aadhaar and voter id were the most commonly available documents with the respondents, with 96% reporting having an Aadhaar and 84% reporting having a voter id. Among the respondents who did have one of the 11 prescribed documents, 46% reported having a matriculation certificate, 39% said they had caste certificates, 30% said they had domicile certificates and 39% reported having their birth certificates. The SWAN phone survey concluded that anyone having even one of these documents is likely to have a few more of the prescribed documents. SWAN said the survey's findings 'establishes more evidence' that the SIR exercise in Bihar is 'mired in chaos'. It went on to say, 'Contrary to official claims, the majority have not heard of the online system. Notwithstanding the impracticality of such a hasty exercise, the interaction with the migrant workers leads us to believe that SIR exercise will disenfranchise millions of people in Bihar. This further pushes us to suggest that the SIR exercise must be revoked without further delay.'
