Bengaluru: Legal experts and citizen-rights activists on Sunday warned that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls poses a grave threat of “civil death” for thousands of eligible voters, particularly women, migrant workers and marginalised communities. They demanded that the government conduct a house-to-house enumeration to prevent wrongful deletions and large-scale exclusions.

The concern was raised during a state-level workshop organised by the My Vote My Rights coalition, even as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has already issued guidelines for implementing SIR. Although the ECI’s June 24 order states that the objective of SIR is to ensure all eligible citizens are included in the rolls, activists noted that Karnataka has not yet begun the process and that the current model relies excessively on documents that many citizens simply do not possess.

Clifton D’Rozario, General Secretary of the All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice (AILAJ), said married women often struggle with changes in name and address, while Adivasi communities in Kodagu and Chamarajanagar lack formal documentation for land they have lived on for generations. “In flood-hit north Karnataka, many families have lost their papers. What are they expected to produce now?” he asked.

Highlighting technical vulnerabilities, Prof. Rajendran Narayanan of Azim Premji University recalled how minor spelling mismatches in Aadhaar-linked NREGA once denied workers access to employment. “In rural areas, a one-letter difference can break an entire linkage,” he said.

Workshop warns SIR is becoming ‘NRC through backdoor’

The workshop began with the release of a booklet titled “Say No to SIR”, outlining the dangers of the process. It was unveiled by prominent writers, activists and organisational representatives from AIPWA, JIH-Karnataka, AICCTU, Eddelu Karnataka, Forward Trust, JCTU, APCR, CIVIC, LGBT rights groups and others.

Activist Vinay Sreenivasa said the SIR exercise is being “twisted into a de facto NRC”, compelling citizens to furnish proof of citizenship under an assumption of doubt. “When the right to vote is taken away, it amounts to civil death,” he warned. “First SIR, next year census, then NPR — we must note the chronology.”

In a legal presentation, D’Rozario said the SIR framework undermines universal adult suffrage, quoting Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s assertion that voting is central to citizenship and political equality. “This is not a revision but a disenfranchisement exercise that will hit the poorest and most marginalised the hardest,” he said.

Activist and thinker Shripad Bhat termed the process “fundamentally unconstitutional”, emphasising that only a strong people’s movement can force the government to withdraw it. PUCL representative Aishwarya said SIR has already resulted in mass exclusions across multiple states, with the process being rushed even before enumeration forms are printed.

Shazin from APCR shared field observations from Madhya Pradesh, where BLOs are allegedly collecting blank signed forms without giving receipts. “In one shocking incident, a BLO died by suicide after facing pressure to delete names from backward communities,” he said.

Prof. Rajendran added: “Earlier, people chose the government. Now the government is deciding who the people are.”

Activist Shivasundar warned that SIR would lead to both political and economic marginalisation. “Once voter ID is taken away, access to government schemes will also be denied,” he said, alleging that BJP-RSS cadres are directing BLOs in several states. “This is not electoral roll cleansing; it is ethnic cleansing.”

Workshop passes resolution opposing SIR rollout

The gathering adopted a resolution opposing the rollout of SIR in 12 states, and condoled the deaths of BLOs who reportedly faced extreme pressure. Participants stated that SIR poses a severe threat to the constitutional right to universal adult franchise and disproportionately harms landless families, women, migrant workers, Dalits, Adivasis, transgender persons and minorities.

Terming SIR “NRC through the backdoor”, the coalition demanded that the government suspend the current document-heavy process and instead adopt a transparent, inclusive and people-friendly house-to-house revision to protect every citizen’s fundamental right to vote.