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Bengal's Tribal Voters Get Automatic Enrollment in Landmark Election Move

The Election Commission of India has directed that voters from the Birhor, Toto, and Sabar aboriginal tribes in West Bengal be automatically enlisted in the final electoral roll without needing to furnish any identity documents. District authorities have been instructed to collect details from Block Development Officers, with the administration ready to issue scheduled tribe certificates on an emergency basis if needed. This move is part of the second stage of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and follows similar relaxations announced for sex workers, transgender people, and monks regarding identity proof formalities. The Commission's approach aims to include marginalized communities who often face document mismatches or lack ownership of original papers, ensuring their voting rights as Indian citizens.

Key Points: Bengal Automatically Enlists 3 Aboriginal Tribes as Voters

  • Automatic voter enlistment for 3 tribes
  • No supporting documents required
  • Part of Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
  • Follows relaxations for other marginalized groups
2 min read

SIR in Bengal: Voters from 3 aboriginal tribes to be automatically enlisted

West Bengal's Election Commission will automatically enroll Birhor, Toto, and Sabar tribe members as voters without documents, part of a wider inclusivity drive.

"In case any voter... does not have the scheduled tribe certificate, the district administration will issue him or her the certificate on an emergency basis. - CEO Office Sources"

Kolkata, Jan 3

The Election Commission of India has decided that the voters from three "aboriginal tribes" or "primitive tribes" will be automatically enlisted in the final voters' list of West Bengal.

The voters from these three communities will not be required to furnish any document for that purpose.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that these "aboriginal tribes" or "primitive tribes", whose voters will be automatically enlisted in the final voters' list without furnishing any supporting identity documents, are Birhor, Toto, and Sabar.

Following the Commission's instruction, the District Magistrates, as well as the District Electoral Officers, have asked the Block Development Officers (BDOs) to provide details of the voters from these three aboriginal tribes in their respective areas.

"In case any voter from any of these three aboriginal tribes does not have the scheduled tribe certificate, the district administration will issue him or her the certificate on an emergency basis," sources in the CEO's office said.

Earlier, this week, the ECI had announced special relaxations for sex workers, people from transgender or other communities and declared monks in connection with the identity proof-related formalities to be followed at the ongoing hearing sessions on the claims and objections on the draft voters' list in West Bengal, which is the second stage of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.

The Commission had decided not to be stringent about the authenticity of the supporting identity documents required for establishing their voting rights, as in the cases of regular categories of voters.

For sex workers and people from the transgender communities, the relaxations are being done since a majority of that section are social outcasts and family outcasts, and they do not own their original documents to prove their authenticity as genuine voters as Indian citizens.

In the case of the people from the transgender community, pointed out by the CEO's office sources, there is an additional problem of three major mismatches between their original documents and their present documents, namely name mismatch, look mismatch, and, most importantly, gender mismatch.

In case of monks, there are name mismatches due to their pre-monk and post-monk life, and hence they would also be extended this special relaxation in connection with the identity proof documents.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Finally, some practical sense! These communities often live in remote areas and face huge hurdles in getting documentation. Automatic enrollment removes a major barrier. Hope other states learn from this.
R
Rohit P
Good initiative, but the implementation is key. The BDOs and local administration must do this work sincerely, without any bias or political pressure. We've seen good policies fail at the ground level before.
S
Sarah B
As someone who has worked with tribal communities, I appreciate this move. The relaxations for transgender individuals and sex workers are equally important. Democracy is for everyone, not just those with easy access to paperwork.
V
Vikram M
While the intent is noble, I have a concern. Automatically enlisting voters without any document verification could potentially be misused for enrolling ineligible persons. There should be a robust local verification mechanism by respected community elders to maintain the list's integrity.
N
Nikhil C
The part about issuing ST certificates on an emergency basis is crucial. Many from these tribes might not have it, and that certificate is needed for so many other government schemes and benefits. This one move can help them in multiple ways. 👏

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