SIR a peaceful political genocide, says Parakala Prabhakar

Economist and political analyst Parakala Prabhakar on Wednesday described the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll as a “peaceful political genocide,” cautioning that it was not a genuine effort to cleanse voter lists but a systematic attempt to exclude citizens deemed undesirable by the ruling establishment.

Delivering the keynote address on “SIR: Is Universal Franchise in Peril?” at a meeting held in memory of science activist C.J. Sivasankaran, Dr. Prabhakar asserted that the true objective of the SIR was to alter India’s social fabric.

“The intention is to exclude communists, minorities such as Muslims and Christians, and other dissenting groups. This is a new mechanism aimed at transforming India into a Hindu nation,” he said, warning that the exercise posed a grave threat to constitutional values and democracy itself.

Dr. Prabhakar noted that an average of 14% of voters had been removed from electoral rolls across India through the SIR, with Kerala reporting a slightly lower figure of 12.8%. Highlighting Bihar as a stark example, he said around 80 lakh voters were removed from the rolls, of whom nearly 60 lakh were women.

He elaborated that Bihar’s adult population stood at 8.22 crore. Prior to the SIR, the voter list included 7.79 crore voters, which fell to 7.45 crore after the revision. “Such large-scale exclusions cannot be justified and must be seen as part of a deliberate attempt to weaken constitutional democracy,” he said.

Dr. Prabhakar saidt the SIR should be recognised as an assault not only on electoral rights but also on the Constitution itself.

The meeting was chaired by writer and academic Kavumbai Balakrishnan and was jointly organised by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, C.J.S. Trust, and the Kolazhy Library.