Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Rolls and loopholes: on the Bihar SIR and Aland

Rolls and loopholes: on the Bihar SIR and Aland

The ECI should be proactive (सक्रिय, पहल करने वाला) in correcting its systemic (प्रणालीगत, प्रणाली संबंधी) faults

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls (मतदाता सूची) in Bihar has raised concerns, with deletions in some areas defying (अवहेलना करना) demographic (जनसांख्यिकीय) patterns and statistical expectations (सांख्यिकीय अपेक्षा). While the Opposition has claimed (दावा करना, अधिकार जताना) serious issues with rolls (सूची, पंजी) across the country, there is no clear-cut (स्पष्ट) evidence as yet (अभी तक) of fraudulent manipulation (हेरफेर, छल) to benefit any political party. However, findings (निष्कर्ष, खोज) from the Aland constituency (निर्वाचन क्षेत्र, मतदाता क्षेत्र) in Karnataka should set alarm bells ringing. Officials (अधिकारी, पदाधिकारी) have unearthed (pull out, dig up, excavate, uncover, unmask, find out) thousands of Form-7 applications (Application for Objecting Inclusion of Name of Other Person / Seeking Deletion of Own Name/Seeking Deletion of Any Other Person’s Name in Electoral Roll due to Death/Shifting) filed by miscreants (law-breaker, wrongdoer, offender), most of them designed to remove the names of legitimate (valid, reasonable, reliable) voters from the rolls. Even this timely (prompt, well timed, at the right time, opportune, appropriate) intervention was made possible by the diligence (carefulness; careful effort or work; great effort; attention) of local political leaders, rather than (instead of) the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) initiative. An independent (impartial, unbiased, neutral, even-handed, disinterested) investigation, which confirmed that the applications were fraudulent (धोखाधड़ीपूर्ण, छलपूर्ण), has since been stalled (obstruct, interrupt, impede, hinder, hamper, block, stop) because the ECI has declined access to technical records, without which the trail (path/way, pathway, course, route (followed for a particular purpose)) disappears into a fog (state of confusion) of dynamic (active, vital, effective) IP addresses and disposable phone numbers (temporary phone numbers that can be used for specific purposes and then deactivated). The Bihar SIR and Aland are nonetheless (nonetheless, nevertheless, however, even so, in spite of that) united by two issues: the absence of verifiable details and an ECI caught in a reactive, rather than proactive, stance (position, standpoint, point of view, opinion, approach). In Aland, the investigation’s fate (destiny, outcome, karma) now depends on the discretion (choice, option, preference, disposition, volition) of the election body whose systems were compromised (undermine, weaken, damage, endanger). In Bihar, the ECI did not release the names and the reasons for deletion in a form that allowed external verification until the Supreme Court compelled it to do so.

The absence of mechanisms (method, system, process, procedure, technique) to allow independent tests of official (formal, proper, bureaucratic) ECI claims (statement, assertion, affirmation avowal (that something is true); a formal request for something that is believed; a right or title to something) is the fault line (a divisive issue; a difference of opinion) along which the trust deficit (lack of trust (on authorities-from societal point of view). Situations with low levels of trust are not supportive and often counterproductive. People feel vulnerable and look at each other with suspicion. As a result, they are less open, since they fear that they will not be fairly treated by the other side) between political parties and the ECI has grown. For parties, every change in the rolls alters the electoral field. While Bihar has many constituencies with close contests, a victory margin of fewer than 700 votes in a previous election in Aland has already politically charged (filled with; full of (excitement, tension, or emotion)) the attempted forged (fabricated, falsified, fake, manufactured, false, inauthentic) deletion of nearly 6,000 voters in 2023. When explanations are partial or have to be painstakingly (carefully, scrupulously, meticulously) coaxed out, disputes that could be resolved by readily (easily, promptly, instantly, quickly, expressly, without delay) available data will obviously face the risk of morphing (change; gradually change something (image) into another one) into contestations (dispute, argument, controversy, disputation, debate, disagreement, contention) of difficult-to-verify competing claims of bias (prejudice, partiality, favouritism, discrimination, one-sidedness, unfairness). Judicial intervention has since become central (crucial, vital, essential, critical) in Bihar, facilitating (make easy, make possible, enable, assist, help/aid) redress (reparation, restitution; remedy (of complaints); reparation (for wrongs)) but also highlighting (emphasize, underscore, underline, accentuate, point up, call attention to, focus attention on) that essential steps were not taken until ordered. Banking on courts to secure (obtain, get something with difficulty) disclosures (revelation, declaration, announcement) shifts the balance of authority (power, control, authorization) and leaves the ECI’s processes open to question (if something is open to question, there are doubts about it. unknown, uncertain, unsure, dubious, doubtful). Each case may be explained by technical failures or administrative lapses (failure, mistake, blunder, oversight), but together they show how the absence of verifiable evidence entrenches (establish, root, embed, settle) operational concerns into systemic suspicion (misgiving, doubt/qualm, scepticism). The responsibility to allay (reduce, diminish, decrease, lessen, ease, relieve, assuage, alleviate, mitigate, temper, moderate) these concerns falls squarely (directly, straightforwardly, forthrightly, perfectly, exactly, precisely, just) on the ECI. To this end, rather than wait for yet another judicial intervention, the Commission must take the allegations (charge, accusation, indictment) from Aland seriously and assist the probe. It should also take steps to prevent Form-7 from being misused, especially to block voter deletion by proxy (representative; deputy, substitute. (proxy war means war through a representative/agent)).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.roll (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सूची, पंजी
English Meaning - list.

2.proactive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सक्रिय, पहल करने वाला
English Meaning - energetic, motivated, farsighted, cautious, careful.

3.systemic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रणालीगत, प्रणाली संबंधी
English Meaning - relating to a whole system.

4.electoral roll (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मतदाता सूची
English Meaning - list of voters; voters list.

5.defy (verb)

Hindi Meaning - अवहेलना करना
English Meaning - violate, break, contravene, go against, flout, ignore, disregard.

6.demographic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जनसांख्यिकीय
English Meaning - relating to the statistical study/structure of populations, especially human beings.

7.statistical expectation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सांख्यिकीय अपेक्षा
English Meaning - expected value; the value that is most likely the result of the next repeated trial of a statistical experiment.

8.claim (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दावा करना, अधिकार जताना
English Meaning - assert, affirm, insist, state, argue, contend.

9.clear-cut (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्पष्ट
English Meaning - definitive, decisive, certain, categorical, conclusive, concrete, definite, unequivocal.

10.as yet (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - अभी तक
English Meaning - up to the present time; until now.

11.fraudulent (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - धोखाधड़ीपूर्ण, छलपूर्ण
English Meaning - dishonest, unlawful, unethical, unprincipled.

12.manipulation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - हेरफेर, छल
English Meaning - falsification, rigging, misrepresentation, distortion, exploitation, deception, trickery.

13.finding (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निष्कर्ष, खोज
English Meaning - information found due to an inquiry or investigation; observation.

14.constituency (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निर्वाचन क्षेत्र, मतदाता क्षेत्र
English Meaning - the specific geographical area in which voters elect a representative to a legislative body.

15.official (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अधिकारी, पदाधिकारी
English Meaning - bureaucracy, authorities, officialdom, the people in charge, the government, the administration, the establishment, the regime/system, corridors of power.

16.loophole (noun)

English Meaning - ambiguity/inadequacy as in a law; omission, means of escape, escape route, escape clause, flaw, fault, defect, discrepancy, inconsistency.

17.Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls (noun)

English Meaning - It aims to revise the electoral rolls in the state in order to include all eligible voters (under Article 326 of the Constitution of India) and eliminate all ineligible voters from the voter list (under Section 16 of the Representation of People Act, 1950 (RPA)). The SIR is carried out through its (ECI) powers under Article 324 and Section 21 of the RPA. Article 324 vests the ECI with superintendence, direction and control over elections in India. Section 21 of the RPA empowers the ECI to prepare and revise electoral rolls.

18.demographic pattern (noun)

English Meaning - it refers to the statistical study of populations based on various factors such as age, race, gender, income, migration patterns, and other variables.

19.set alarm bells ringing (phrase)

English Meaning - to make someone feel distressed/concerned about something.

20.unearth (verb)

English Meaning - pull out, dig up, excavate, uncover, unmask, find out.

21.Form-7 application (noun)

English Meaning - Application for Objecting Inclusion of Name of Other Person / Seeking Deletion of Own Name/Seeking Deletion of Any Other Person’s Name in Electoral Roll due to Death/Shifting.

22.miscreant (noun)

English Meaning - law-breaker, wrongdoer, offender.

23.legitimate (adjective)

English Meaning - valid, reasonable, reliable.

24.timely (adjective)

English Meaning - prompt, well timed, at the right time, opportune, appropriate.

25.intervention (noun)

English Meaning - the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference.

26.diligence (noun)

English Meaning - carefulness; careful effort or work; great effort; attention.

27.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

28.independent (adjective)

English Meaning - impartial, unbiased, neutral, even-handed, disinterested

29.stall (verb)

English Meaning - obstruct, interrupt, impede, hinder, hamper, block, stop.

30.trail (noun)

English Meaning - path/way, pathway, course, route (followed for a particular purpose).

31.fog (noun)

English Meaning - state of confusion.

32.dynamic (adjective)

English Meaning - active, vital, effective.

33.disposable phone number (noun)

English Meaning - temporary phone numbers that can be used for specific purposes and then deactivated.

34.disposable (adjective)

English Meaning - one-use, replaceable.

35.nonetheless (adverb)

English Meaning - nonetheless, nevertheless, however, even so, in spite of that.

36.stance (noun)

English Meaning - position, standpoint, point of view, opinion, approach.

37.fate (noun)

English Meaning - destiny, outcome, karma.

38.discretion (noun)

English Meaning - choice, option, preference, disposition, volition.

39.compromise (verb)

English Meaning - undermine, weaken, damage, endanger.

40.mechanism (noun)

English Meaning - method, system, process, procedure, technique.

41.official (adjective)

English Meaning - formal, proper, bureaucratic.

42.claim (noun)

English Meaning - statement, assertion, affirmation avowal (that something is true); a formal request for something that is believed; a right or title to something.

43.fault line (noun)

English Meaning - a divisive issue; a difference of opinion.

44.trust deficit (noun)

English Meaning - lack of trust (on authorities-from societal point of view). Situations with low levels of trust are not supportive and often counterproductive. People feel vulnerable and look at each other with suspicion. As a result, they are less open, since they fear that they will not be fairly treated by the other side.

45.charged (adjective)

English Meaning - filled with; full of (excitement, tension, or emotion).

46.forged (adjective)

English Meaning - fabricated, falsified, fake, manufactured, false, inauthentic.

47.painstakingly (adverb)

English Meaning - carefully, scrupulously, meticulously.

48.coax out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - persuade, convince, encourage someone to do something.

49.readily (adverb)

English Meaning - easily, promptly, instantly, quickly, expressly, without delay.

50.morph (verb)

English Meaning - change; gradually change something (image) into another one.

51.contestation (noun)

English Meaning - dispute, argument, controversy, disputation, debate, disagreement, contention.

52.bias (noun)

English Meaning - prejudice, partiality, favouritism, discrimination, one-sidedness, unfairness.

53.central (adjective)

English Meaning - crucial, vital, essential, critical.

54.facilitate (verb)

English Meaning - make easy, make possible, enable, assist, help/aid.

55.redress (noun)

English Meaning - reparation, restitution; remedy (of complaints); reparation (for wrongs).

56.highlight (verb)

English Meaning - emphasize, underscore, underline, accentuate, point up, call attention to, focus attention on.

57.bank on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - rely on, depend on, count on,

58.secure (verb)

English Meaning - obtain, get something with difficulty.

59.disclosure (noun)

English Meaning - revelation, declaration, announcement.

60.tilt/tip/shift the balance (phrase)

English Meaning - to change the balance of a situation, so that one side is gaining advantage.

61.authority (noun)

English Meaning - power, control, authorization.

62.open to question (phrase)

English Meaning - if something is open to question, there are doubts about it. unknown, uncertain, unsure, dubious, doubtful

63.lapse (noun)

English Meaning - failure, mistake, blunder, oversight.

64.entrench (verb)

English Meaning - establish, root, embed, settle.

65.suspicion (noun)

English Meaning - misgiving, doubt/qualm, scepticism.

66.allay (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, diminish, decrease, lessen, ease, relieve, assuage, alleviate, mitigate, temper, moderate.

67.fall on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - be the responsibility of.

68.squarely (adverb)

English Meaning - directly, straightforwardly, forthrightly, perfectly, exactly, precisely, just

69.To that/this end (phrase)

English Meaning - as a method of doing something; as a way of handling something

70.allegation (noun)

English Meaning - charge, accusation, indictment.

71.proxy (noun)

English Meaning - representative; deputy, substitute. (proxy war means war through a representative/agent).