Play

The Election Commission’s decision to undertake a “special intensive revision” of the electoral rolls in Bihar months before the state election has caused concern in several quarters. The unprecedented process has required at least 29 million out of nearly 79 million Bihari voters to prove that they –and in many cases their parents – were Indian citizens.

What does it mean for citizenship, for marginalised communities and for the debate around documentation in India? Is this merely a data exercise, or does it signal something more, possibly a contentious National Register of Citizens being introduced through the backdoor?

In this episode of Karwan e Mohabbat’s discussion series on the state of the republic, author and peace worker Harsh Mander unpacks the implications of this exercise with political scientist Professor Zoya Hasan and social activist Anjali Bhardwaj.

The participants examine the timing, intent, and impact of this sudden revision. The conversation explores how such measures can risk undermining constitutional values and stoking anxieties among vulnerable populations.

The name of Karwan e Mohabbat’s Yeh Daag Daag Ujala series is a tribute to the iconic poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.