SIR exercise: Citizenship test must be a balancing act

A passport is the most recognisable document the Indian state issues to its citizens. It carries the national emblem, is issued by a sovereign government, and allows its holder to cross international borders as an Indian national.

Yet, during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that an Indian passport should be understood primarily as a travel document rather than as conclusive proof of citizenship, a distinction that took on particular significance amid the SIR debate.

It is correctly established as a matter of law that a passport is not conclusive proof of citizenship. It is a travel document, issued under the Passports Act, 1967, a statute that itself permits passports to be issued to non-citizens in specified circumstances.

If a passport does not settle the question, what should an ordinary citizen produce when the state asks whether he/she may vote? The question reaches well beyond documentation. It goes to the relationship between citizenship, evidence and democratic participation.

The Election Commission has framed the SIR as an exercise meant to ensure that no eligible citizen is left off the rolls while no ineligible person is included on them. It undertook the exercise under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act,...

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