Adult franchise not universal

Three fringe communities in Mumbai remain excluded from the voters' list. They cannot participate in the elections of the world's largest democracy
Gajanan Khergamker Mumbai

While India's polity slugs it out to settle scores; makes new inroads and reaches out to get a voice for their cronies, a few communities continue to remain without representation. And, for all the wrong reasons. For one, they still battle the age-old scourge - the dodgy voters' list which refuses to accept their existence and thus deprives them of a voice that the Republic of India ought to guarantee.

Hardnews takes a look at three communities in Mumbai silenced by their forced non-involvement in India's general elections that symbolises the unfortunate drift.

All in vain

Yaddi Kavita Rathod can't stop blaming fate for her inability to get a ration card for herself. "I tried very hard to include my name in the ration card, for years now. But, still haven't succeeded," she says. "If my name was included in the ration card, I could have cast my vote. Then, probably, the local politician would have tended to our problems," she says. Running from pillar to post, Kavita, a maid-servant, has been unsuccessful like most of her contemporaries to update her ration card.

But then, having a ration card didn't do her neighbour Sangeeta Hiroo Rathod any good either. The 22-year-old fish-cleaner has a ration card in place but has been unable to get her name included in the voters' list. "Kya karega, bohut kochis karke bhi koi payda nahin hai. Woh bolte hain ki tumhara kya thikana, aaj idhar to kal udhar! (What to do? I tried a lot but to no avail. The authorities say that we don't have a fixed place to call home)," she rues in a typically affected Hindi.

Apparently, even a last-ditch effort to get her name into the voters' list in exchange for a bribe didn't help. "Baaki sab ka kaise hota hai, kya maloom (Wonder how others manage to do it)," says the Yaddi as Kannadiga Banjaras - traditionally gypsies - are popularly known in Mumbai.

The Kannadiga Banjaras work mostly as domestic helps or in the city's Sassoon Docks cleaning catch from the sea such as prawns, lobsters, fish and octopus for companies who offer the service to dealers. While most of them live in the city's slums, they don't have any identification papers necessary for living in a city. So, it's difficult for their children to avail of any regularised education. And, once they turn four, the balwadis, where discerning Yaddis like Kavita admit their children for basic education, begin to ease them out.

"Mein apni bachchi ko mere jaise nahin banana chahti hoon, lekin kya karoon. Ek birth certificate bhi to nahin hai, ration card to door ki baat. School mein dakhla kaise karaoongi. Jab hum vote hi nahin karenge to netalog humko kya denge (I don't want my daughter to become like me but what to do. She doesn't even have a birth certificate leave aside a ration card. How will I get her admitted to school? And, when we can't vote, why will the politicians bother about our plight?" says Kavita.

Fight till the end

Like Yaddis, low-caste Gujarati sweepers, too, are entangled in the caste mesh. For the Gujarati sweeper who collects the daily garbage from the streets of Mumbai and comprises nearly half of the total sweeper population in the municipal corporation, voting is a right that doesn't come easy. Looked down even today by higher caste shopkeepers who refuse to be even touched by members of this caste, only voting could provide them the right to voice their dissent or be taken seriously. But, that isn't happening. At least, not so soon or so easily.