Millions are struck off India's voter rolls in largest disenfranchisement in history
India's voter rolls underwent a massive revision resulting in the estimated deletion of 130 million names. Critics, including opposition politicians and former election commissioners, accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party of orchestrating the removals to disenfranchise opposing communities.
Why it matters
Mass voter roll purges in the world's largest democracy threaten the integrity of democratic elections and civil rights for millions of marginalized citizens.
NEW DELHI — Like many Indians, Kanchan has one name and lives in hardscrabble quarters. Her home is built of tin and a tarp, constructed under a flyover in the capital New Delhi. And like many on the margins, Kanchan was proud of her right to vote — a rare equalizer in unequal India.
"It's important, because it shows we are citizens," Kanchan said on a recent October day, sitting on a plastic chair as vehicles trundled overhead.
But a few weeks ago, Kanchan said about 500 adults were deleted from their voter roll in this community, which resides around a bridge. They found out through another resident who is allowed to examine the voter rolls as a representative of a political party.
They were among an estimated 130 million names that were deleted during a revision of voter rolls that began last year in June.
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