SIR in Bengal done in hurry, may jeopardise democratic participation: Amartya Sen

Kolkata: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has voiced deep unease over the SIR process in West Bengal, warning that the exercise is being conducted with “undue haste” and may jeopardise democratic participation, particularly with the assembly elections approaching in a few months.

The 92-year-old economist, speaking to PTI during an interview from Boston, reflected on the democratic value of electoral roll revisions and the circumstances under which they can strengthen voting rights.

He stressed that such an exercise must be conducted with care and adequate time, conditions he believes are “missing” in Bengal’s case.

“A thorough review of electoral rolls done carefully with adequate time can be a good democratic procedure, but this is not what is happening in West Bengal at this time," Sen said.

“The SIR is being done in a hurry, with inadequate time for people with voting rights to have sufficient opportunity to submit documents to vindicate their entitlement to vote in the coming assembly elections. This is both unjust to the electorate and unfair to Indian democracy,” he said.

Drawing from his own experience during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bengal, Sen said time pressure was evident even among poll officials.

“Sometimes, the officials of the Election Commission themselves seem to lack enough time.

“When they questioned my right to vote from my home constituency in Santiniketan – from where I have voted earlier, and where my name, address and other details are registered in official records – they questioned me about my deceased mother’s age at my date of birth, even though, as a voter herself, my mother’s details, like mine, were stored also in their own official records,” he said.

The celebrated economist went on to describe the documentation challenges he encountered, noting that these difficulties are common for many Indians born in rural areas.

“Like many Indian citizens born in rural India (I was born in the then village of Santiniketan), I do not have a birth certificate, and my eligibility to vote required further paperwork to be presented on my behalf,” he said.

Although the issue was eventually resolved for him, Sen expressed concern for citizens who lack similar access to assistance.

“Even though I could happily say (like the Beatles) – ‘Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends’ – I worried about others who do not have so many loyal friends. My friends helped me to get through the rigid gates of the formidable EC,” he said.

The nonagenarian was summoned for a hearing after a “logical discrepancy” was flagged by the EC over an age difference between him and his mother, Amita Sen, in the electoral rolls.

Asked whether the SIR could politically advantage any political party in West Bengal, Sen said he could not offer a definitive assessment, underlining that democratic integrity should remain paramount.

“I am not an election expert, so I cannot answer the question with certainty. I have been told by those who seem to know more, that the BJP will benefit from the under-accounting.

“I don’t know whether that is true, but the real point is that the EC should not insist on a faulty arrangement and force our proud democracy to commit an unnecessary error, no matter who benefits,” he said.

On sections of society that are most vulnerable to being excluded during the SIR, Sen pointed to the structural disadvantages faced by poorer citizens.

“An obvious answer must be the underprivileged and the poor. The documents needed for being allowed into the new electoral roll are often difficult to obtain for the underdogs of society.

“The class bias that may show up in the necessary requirement of getting and showing particular documents in order to qualify to enter the new voters’ list will tend to work against the indigent,” Sen said.