Overworked and threatened: Teachers caught in Gujarat’s electoral roll revision drive

I have in my hand a representation addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Gujarat, urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to stop “atrocities on teachers and education in the name of election work.” The representation, submitted by Dr. Kanubhai Khadadiya of the All India Save Education Committee (AISEC), Gujarat chapter -- its contents matched  what a couple of teachers serving as Block Level Officers (BLOs) told me a couple of days esrlier during a recent visit to a close acquaintance.

The teachers—both women—told me that if, as BLOs, they failed to follow instructions from government authorities regarding house-to-house distribution of enumeration forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, they would be charged with a criminal offense.  “We must visit each house thrice: first to distribute the forms, then to collect them initially, and then again to collect those forms that couldn’t be obtained earlier.”

They admitted the forms were “complicated,” and most people who submitted them didn’t understand what to fill in where. “Even then, we collect the filled up forms and hand them over to the person appointed by the government for data entry,” the teachers told me, adding that the data entry operator is “bound to make mistakes, as this person is mandated to enter details from 400 forms into the computer.”

Yet, ironically, one of those gathered at my acquaintance’s place in Ahmedabad for a sumptuous lunch—a senior technocrat with decades of experience—justified the SIR exercise as “extremely necessary.” I asked him why, and he replied, “There is a need to identify those who are non-citizens and yet possess Aadhaar cards and are therefore allowed to vote. Many of them are Bangladeshis, illegally residing here and forming a votebank for a particular political party. SIR will ensure that only citizens vote…”

I could sense how deeply the Hindutva mindset has infiltrated even the educated middle classes. There appears to be little objection among large sections to the burden of filling out the complicated enumeration form, which requires entering “mandatory” details, including the electoral roll number and the name of the constituency from the supposed “last SIR”—2002.

One such BLO came to my residence as well. I asked him what I should do if I didn’t have the last SIR details—it was said to be in 2002, and I surely voted that year in Gandhinagar. But who preserves such old voter ID cards? How does one obtain their number?

The BLO, who identified himself as an Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation employee, and was accompanied by a lady teacher, said, “In that case, you fill in the voter ID details of your parents!” Shocked, I said I am 72—how could I provide that? They passed away quite some years ago. His reply: “Well, do what you think fit. I’m just repeating what we’ve been told by our bosses.”

I could empathize with the BLOs' plight. The persons who came to my house carried a huge bunch of enumeration forms, which they had to distribute and “explain” to each person they visited. Ironically, the form states that Aadhaar is an “optional” document, while listing 11 “mandatory” documents—including passport and school leaving certificate. The ration card isn’t part of the list. To quote the technocrat I met earlier, “So many fraudulent Aadhaar and ration cards exist. They need to be filtered. And the ECI is doing the right thing…”

In Gujarat, the ECI began its work on November 4, and within just one month, it must complete the task. Surely, this places immense pressure on BLOs, who are mostly lower-level government officials, including teachers.

It is in this context that the AISEC representation gains significance. It states that as a result of the SIR campaign, “the condition of teachers and education has deteriorated. Firstly, there is a shortage of teachers in all government and grant-in-aid schools. On top of that, the Election Commission issued an order mandating that teachers perform the duty of a Booth Level Officer (BLO).”

“Not only this,” AISEC asserts, “Disregarding democratic norms, the Election Commission has threatened that if any teacher refuses the duty, an arrest warrant would be issued against them. Due to all this, teaching work in schools has been disrupted immediately after the Diwali vacation.”

It adds, “Teachers are under constant pressure. Their family and personal responsibilities have also been put on hold. In many places, monitors or senior students have had to take classes. Furthermore, the teachers assigned to duty have not received uniform instructions or proper training. This is causing confusion. There are also incidents of friction between BLOs and local voters in several places.”

AISEC questions, “By perpetrating such atrocities on teachers, negatively impacting education, and harassing voters, what kind of democracy is the Election Commission preserving? If the Election Commission constantly requires election work, why doesn’t it recruit permanent staff from the large number of unemployed youth? How appropriate is this kind of dictatorship in the name of election duty?” 

It opposes “mandatory, forceful election work being imposed on teachers", demanding, “In the interest of education, the Election Commission should consider an alternative arrangement and immediately relieve teachers from this duty.”

Meanwhile, I have been forwarded a copy of a formal arrest warrant issued by an executive magistrate against a temporary school teacher who went on leave during the SIR work. The warrant, issued under the Representation of the People Act and other sections of criminal law, directs the police to apprehend the teacher, who was “appointed for an extremely important national duty/work related to the voters’ list,” but went on leave, “severely affecting the SIR work."