🧵 "When Literacy Decides Who Gets to Vote"

Bihar’s latest electoral roll revision has sparked a silent but significant question:

What happens to democracy when the right to vote quietly slips away—not because of law, but because of literacy?

As part of the Special Summary Revision (SSR) in Bihar, a staggering 67 lakh names were removed from the voters’ list. The Election Commission cites death and migration as the primary reasons. But when you examine the gender-wise data, something striking appears:

👉 More women were deleted than men (31 lakh vs 25 lakh).

Logically, this should mean women are dying more or migrating more.

But death rates between men and women are nearly equal, and men migrate far more than women, especially from a highly male out-migration state like Bihar.

So what explains the skewed deletion?

The answer lies in the fine print: literacy.

After 2003, voter enrolment requires filling a form and submitting proof of citizenship. Unlike previous door-to-door surveys, this revision is form-based, placing the burden on individuals. With female literacy in Bihar at just 55%, many women—especially in rural and economically weaker districts—struggled to fill and submit the forms correctly.

In essence, voter exclusion happened not due to citizenship status—but due to inability to fill a form.

This isn't just a Bihar issue. If similar revisions happen across India without addressing literacy barriers, we risk disenfranchising lakhs of women—and other vulnerable communities like SC/STs, elderly, and disabled.

Democracy should enable participation, not filter it through paperwork.

If we claim every citizen has a right to vote, we must ensure systems do not quietly fail them.

🔍 Let’s reflect:

Should literacy decide who gets to vote in a democracy?

Are administrative processes becoming silent gatekeepers of electoral rights?

🗳️ A healthy democracy needs more than free elections—it needs equal access to the ballot.

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