‘If you are alive, you must show it’: Hyderabad’s anti-SIR protest brings together people of all age groups

People form a human chain in protest against SIR and demand resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at Tank Bund in Hyderabad on Saturday.

A 70-year-old woman, seated on a chair and holding a placard with a message on the need to stand up for one’s principles, was among 300-odd people who gathered at Tank Bund near poet Maqdoom Mohiudeen’s statue in Hyderabad on Saturday to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll.

Alleging institutional capture and demanding measures to restore the integrity of the electoral process, economist Parakala Prabhakar, who joined the protest, called for the scrapping of the SIR and the reconstitution of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Economist Parakala Prabhakar addressing the gathering at Tank Bund in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Rejecting the idea that dissent was confined to designated protest venues, he said resistance could emerge from any part of the country. “Jantar Mantar is not a physical space in New Delhi. Wherever dissent is expressed and wherever we register our objection to SIR, anywhere in the country, in any village, town, lane or street, that is our Jantar Mantar. Every person who is questioning and dissenting is a walking Jantar Mantar. Every mind that questions is a Jantar Mantar,” he said.

Mr. Prabhakar also demanded the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners, objecting to the immunity provisions it introduced.

Asma Begum (name changed) carried a placard that read, “Usoolon pe aanch aaye toh takrana zaroori hai, agar zinda ho toh zinda nazar aana zaroori hai” (When principles are at stake, it is necessary to fight back; if you are alive, you must show that you are alive). For her, the protest was a call to people of her generation to step out of their homes and stand up for those whose names have allegedly been deleted from electoral rolls. Another person held a poster with the image of a brinjal with a few words figuratively reading “baigan ka SIR”.

A physically challenged person takes part in the protest at Tank Bund in Hyderabad on Saturday.

“It is about time people my age leave their comfort zones and come out in support of those who have been actively raising their voices against the SIR. We have voted enough times in our lives, but now, because of this exercise, our children’s names have been deleted. To get them back on the rolls, we have to come out and protest. I call upon everyone of my age to join the protest,” she added.

At around 4 p.m., hundreds of people began gathering at Tank Bund carrying the national flag and placards bearing slogans against the SIR. The protesters eventually formed a human chain, occupying nearly half a kilometre of the footpath. The gathering brought together people across generations, including senior citizens who had witnessed earlier political movements, women concerned about the deletion of their names from electoral rolls, and activists demanding changes to the electoral revision process.

Among those present was 63-year-old Suvamoy Sen, who brought with him the Indian flag used by his father during the Quit India Movement. The flag, which had been part of an earlier generation’s participation in the freedom struggle, was now at a protest centred on concerns over electoral rights and democratic participation.

People take part in a protest demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at Tank Bund in Hyderabad on Saturday.

For a group of women who had travelled from different parts of Hyderabad’s Old City, the protest was rooted in a more immediate concern: the absence of their names from the draft electoral rolls. “Despite submitting proper documents during enumeration, our names were deleted. We are all working women and have had to leave our work and run behind BLOs to submit documents that would help us get our names added. Many of our parents are now dead, and they never got many documents made. So, how do we get them? We have voted in previous elections. How can they suddenly remove our names?” asked 30-year-old Zeenath Khan.

As the protest continued, groups of demonstrators raised slogans such as “Gyanesh Kumar should resign” and “SIR ko raddh karo” (scrap SIR), demanding accountability from the Election Commission and the withdrawal of the exercise. By around 6.30 p.m., protesters began dispersing, but several expressed their willingness to participate in further demonstrations.