‘Outcasts’ in poll festival

Rakeeb Hossain
Kolkata, April 27--Their relatives have long forgotten them. The society looks down upon them as outcasts. Deprived of almost everything that you can name, they don’t even have the right to exercise their fundamental right as a citizen of the country — to vote.
Their only fault — if one can say it that way — is they have or had leprosy. Though many of them are now fully cured—two things remained constant. Their families never took them back and Election Commission never listed their names as voters.
And while neglect from the family is a constant pain for the nearly 80-odd middle-aged to old men and women living in the Naba Kustha Ashram at Chhoto Balarampur — just 10 kilometers from Purulia Town, every time an election comes sadly they realise that they are not even wanted by the Election Commission and that they would not be able to exercise their fundamental right — yet once again.
And this time too, it would not be any different for those men and women in the ashram, whose number would not be less then 35. They have come to the ashram about 15 years back and stayed on following refusal of the families to take them back.
For in the last 15 years or so, none of those who came to the ashram and was not able to return back home, could enlist their names in the voters’ list, leave alone getting an identity card even though the commission is making tall claims of trying to have 100 per cent EPIC cover in the state.
“Most of us do not have voters’ identity card. Even worse, many of us do not even figure in the voters’ list. Before election, whenever officials from the panchayat and the district come to the ashram, we urge them to get our names enlisted and arrange for voters’ identity card for those who do not have one. They promise that this time it would certainly be done. But strangely, our names never make it to the final list and we are deprived of casting our votes,” said Jagannath Mahato (67) who had been living at the ashram for the last 13 years but still does not have his name in the voters list.
Same is the situation with Rathin Mahato (70), Gayaram Mahato (68), Anandamoyee Pradhan (65), Ashalata Karmakar (72), Lalu Sardar (50), Budhu Mahato, Sukhlal Singh, Netai Sengupta or Sripati Mahato to name a few.
“We have been deprived of almost every thing in life. We are just waiting for our final hour to come. Our families do not take us back, even though many of us are fully cured. Our physical deformity makes people stay away from us when we visit the market or go elsewhere. And we don’t even have any money to get houses on rent. This ashram is where we can at least survive. We want to live like any other person in the society and also cast our vote,” said Tarun Kumar Niyogi, who was sent to the ashram by his family members from Borobazar in Purulia in the early 80s and was never taken back home.
And the lucky few who have voters’ identity cards have a different tale of neglect to tell. “Sick and old, we still go to Balarampur to cast our vote, but they don’t allow us to stand in the main queue with ordinary people. They make separate lines for us and we have to wait till the ordinary people are over with voting. We are asked to go after 12noon when most voters have completed voting. It is tough for old and sick people like us to wait under the sun for hours to vote. Still many of us do take the trouble to go and vote,” said Gaur Layk (65), one of those who have a voters’ ID card.
Though district officials had always made hollow promises, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal, Debasish Sen, when told about their situation, sounded sympathetic.
“For this Lok Sabha election it’s already too late and we can’t do anything now. We would, however, look into the matter and if required make a special camp for them later on to enlist their names in the voters’ list and give them voters’ identity card,” said Sen.
rakeeb.hossain@hindustantimes.com