AHEAD of Friday prayers, Mohd Farukh and his nephew Mohd Dil Nawaz, 20, decide to make a quick dash to a nearby government school in a village on the outskirts of Darbhanga town. They have heard that Bihar’s electoral rolls are being revised, and want to find out from “Madam” what is to be done.
However, they return disappointed; the school is locked and there are no teachers around.
Back home, a greying Farukh says none of his family members has received the new enrolment forms, nor do they know what to do next. “This is the latest way to hassle people… Is this not NRC?”
The reference is to the BJP-led Central government’s plans for a National Register of Citizens.
Once linked to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by the government, leading to protests in 2019, the NRC has since been put on the backburner. However, amid the EC’s new — and sudden — requirement that all voters, new and existing, provide documents that are akin to giving citizenship proof, a section of minorities ask if this is “NRC by the backdoor.”
Mohd Akbar, 55, a resident of Misri Ganj in Darbhanga town, says that he and his wife don’t figure in the electoral rolls since 2020. To get back, they must produce one of the 11 documents suggested by the EC as part of the Special Intensive Revision exercise. He has none. His one hope is getting his “vanshavali” or family register made.
Mohd Ansar, who works as a driver, has a driving licence and Aadhaar card. But those won’t suffice. “Jhamela hai (It’s a problem),” he says, asking how many electors can even run around to put together caste, domicile or family register papers in time.
The EC, which started the exercise only on June 28, plans to wrap it up by July 25, and print the draft electoral rolls by August 1. The final one is scheduled for September 30, days ahead of the Assembly polls.
Akbar and Ansar, as well as their neighbour Mohd Hafiz, heard about the EC exercise only through their local school teachers, and say they are yet to receive their forms.
In a statement on Friday, the EC said its Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had visited nearly 1.5 crore houses and distributed 87% of the enumeration forms, and that 5% of those had been returned filled. “The remaining houses could be locked, or (belong to) dead electors, or migrants or those who may be travelling,” the EC said, adding that they would expand coverage as the BLOs would visit each house three times.
On the ground in Darbhanga, many are yet to be approached by BLOs. Such as Rizwana Khatun. Her other worry is that her husband works in Saudi Arabia. “What about the forms of those who work abroad?” she asks.
Down the road, in Chatra village, Ashok Kumar Yadav is among the lucky ones. Clutching his form, the owner of a ration shop says: “I just got this. I have to see what all they want.”
Yadav fully backs the EC move. “The government has a right to ask for documents. It is their job to keep us safe. It can’t be the case that there are no illegal immigrants in Bihar.”
In Simri village as well, the EC’s drive finds some support, coupled with caution.
A government school teacher, Mohd Irshad, says: “Change is the law of nature. In the beginning, people will face some trouble, but the process will settle down.”
However, he adds, the EC should have given the voters more time to provide the required documents. He has all the papers, Irshad adds, as “I started looking for my family’s pre-1965 documents when the NRC was being proposed.” Yet, he admits: “Dar to sabhi ko lagta hai (Who is not scared)?”
While the EC conducts annual special summary revisions, it has said that it is after 2003 that it is holding a Special Intensive Revision, keeping in mind factors such as migration, urbanisation and potential entry of foreigners into the electoral rolls. As per the EC directive, issued on June 24, the over 7.8 crore existing voters of Bihar hence must submit new enumeration forms.
While those who were in the 2003 electoral rolls only have to submit an extract from it as proof, others must provide documents among a list of 11 to prove the date and/or place of birth, which establishes citizenship. The list does not include Aadhaar and ration cards, the most commonly held documents, especially by the poor and marginalised.
In a small settlement of the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) Mandal community in Simri, Santosh Kumar Mandal also counts himself as among the fortunate ones; he has his BA degree. Nearly 30 years after he earned it, it may be useful to Mandal, who earns a living as an auto driver. “So far, no one has come to give us the forms, but we have seen the news,” he says.
In another settlement nearby of EBC families, Rajni Devi, 35, says she applied for a caste certificate just a day earlier. “It usually takes 11-15 days, but the cyber cafe where I applied online said it will be done in two to three days.” The authorities have been instructed to expedite the issue of caste and other certificates needed for the EC exercise.
The BLO superviser of the area, Ranjeet Kumar Ram, who has been distributing forms and filling them out for those who need help, says: “We are trying to find solutions to help the voters. In some cases, if they don’t have any documents, we are asking them to get a certificate from their sarpanch.”
Once he has collected the forms and documents, Ram must walk some distance to get a cell signal to upload the same.
In Ram Chela tola of Simri, Mohan Sahani, who works as a daily wager, says it is by chance that he is home these days. “I go to Delhi to find work sometimes. Both my sons are there now. Who will feed the family if they come back too? What can we do if their names get cut?” he sighs.
BLO supervisor Ranjeet Kumar Ram fields questions from residents in Simri village, Darbhanga, Friday. (Damini Nath) 
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