At the age of 96, Nikhil Chandra Sarkar never expected to be summoned to prove his citizenship. Yet, the ailing resident of West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district appeared before authorities for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing after his name was found missing from the electoral rolls uploaded following the revision exercise.
Sarkar, a resident of Baro Atiabari Gram Panchayat under the Dinhata I block, suffers from severe health complications after two major strokes and is unable to walk or speak properly. Despite his condition, he was issued a notice asking him to appear before the Block Development Officer (BDO), prompting his family to bring him to the office.
Accompanied by his wife and son, Sarkar reached the Dinhata I block BDO office holding his voter identity card in one hand and the hearing notice in the other. Owing to his frail condition, he was unable to clearly respond to questions regarding the purpose of his visit.
“We received a notice to appear, so we came. My husband is 96 years old and we have been living here for as long as we remember,” said his wife, Abha Sarkar. She said officials informed the family that Sarkar’s name did not appear in the SIR draft list, despite the family having lived in the area for decades.
His son, Nimai Sarkar, said his father had voted in every election over the years. “He has participated in all elections. This problem started after the Election Commission uploaded the 2002 voter list following the SIR announcement, where my father’s name was missing,” he said. “Name omission from the SIR draft list has led to this ordeal,” Nimai added.
He said the family had submitted all required documents during the hearing and that the names of other family members continue to appear on the electoral rolls. “Only my father’s name is missing. We have done everything we were asked to do. Now we are waiting for the authorities’ decision,” he said.
The incident has drawn political attention, with West Bengal minister Udayan Guha, who is in charge of the North Bengal Development Department, expressing concern over the treatment of the elderly man. “It is inhumane,” Guha said. “The fact that such elderly people have to undergo such a strenuous process just to protect what is already theirs is utterly disturbing.”
