'D' voter's tag invites the worst kind of social stigma: Teacher

GUWAHATI: The tag of 'D' or doubtful voter, besides depriving a person of his voting rights, can also subject him to humiliation in social circles, says Md Nurul Islam, a teacher at a government school in Assam's Barpeta district. Islam says he has waged a lonely battle, fighting social stigma and ostracism, ever since he was tagged a 'D' voter in 1997.

In a twist of fate, Islam is currently engaged as an investigating officer involved in the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. But there is nothing he can do to clear the 'D' voter's tag, the weight of which he has been bearing like an albatross around his neck for 21 years.

"You cannot imagine the kind of mental torture and shame I am subjected to in social circles for being a 'D' voter. Sometimes the reactions I get are torturous and disgraceful. Two decades of carrying the tag invites the worst form of social ostracism," Islam, a postgraduate teacher at the Paschim Moinbari Higher Secondary School in Kalgachia area of the district, said.

To add to his tale of woes, Islam is not sure why he was tagged a 'D' voter in the first place. Islam said the name of his father, Abul Hussain, was included in the electoral rolls of 1966 and 1970 besides his NRC legacy data being available. Islam's name also was included in the voters' list of 1997 and he had a serial number of 719. However later that year, he was tagged as a 'D' voter.

Islam's case is not unique by any means. Ever since the Election Commission of India in 1997 introduced the practice of tagging people as 'D' voter in the electoral rolls if their citizenship claims are considered to be doubtful, the cases of at least 2,44,144 'D' voters have been referred to the foreigners' tribunals. Among these, 60,000 were found to be genuine Indian citizens while 1,25,333 cases are still pending.

Social activists claim that the 'D' voters' tag is slapped on people in an arbitrary manner and in many of the cases, these people are later found to be genuine Indian citizens.

Former legislator and SUCI leader Dewan Joynal Abedin said, "When people are tagged 'D' voters, they are deprived of their civil and political rights even as they suffer from the worst kind of social ostracism. Even their children and other family members are seen with an eye of suspicion in social circles."

Abedin also pointed out that after the practice of tagging people as 'D' voters was introduced in 1997, it was initially decided that all cases would be settled within six months. But that has hardly happened and a lot of cases - like that of Islam - have dragged on for 21 years.