Watch | SIR at One: Who Is an Indian Citizen?
When the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls – a term that does not exist in the rule books – on June 24, 2025, it said that the exercise has been necessitated due to various reasons including the “inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants”. Yet, one year after the SIR started, the ECI is yet to provide a figure for the number of alleged “foreign illegal immigrants” that have been found on electoral rolls in the exercise that has already been conducted in 13 states and Union territories. In the last year over 5 crore voters have been deleted while about 27 lakh voters just in West Bengal were unable to vote in the April assembly elections and are still waiting for their appeals to be decided by judicial tribunals.
As those deleted from the electoral rolls are facing suspension of welfare benefits in Bihar and West Bengal, the union ministry of external affairs has said that the passport is only a travel document, even though it is being used to verify citizenship.
A year after SIR, the question arises- Who is an Indian citizen and what establishes citizenship?
The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Dr Mohan Gopal, advocate in the Supreme Court and legal academician.
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