Amritha Alladi

At The Hindu: NRI voters disenfranchised

When Suresh Subramaniam visited the Indian embassy in Muscat to find out how he could vote, he was shocked to find that there was no system in place to include them in electing their leaders. Living beyond the borders of their country, Indian citizens find that once they are out of sight, they are also not given a thought by their government. “There is no procedure available,” Mr. Subramaniam said.

He joins millions of others globally who are “disenfranchised” by India and by the countries that have taken them in.

Non-Resident Indians, unlike the Overseas Citizens of India, retain Indian citizenship as they study or work abroad. However, once they have remained outside of India for an extended period, they lose their “ordinary resident” status, as defined by Section 20 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950. Their names are deleted from the electoral roll, which is usually reviewed in January, according to Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta.

Even for citizens registered on the electoral roll but abroad during the elections, the Act only permits the use of absentee postal ballots by some categories of people, such as members of Armed forces and bureaucrats stationed overseas.

So it’s not that NRIs are prohibited from voting per se, said Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs; but RPA does not allow them to use postal ballots. Plus, allowing them to vote in absentia would prove too cumbersome. “What electoral control can there be?” Mr. Ravi said. “It’s not possible.” While the NRIs argue this disenfranchises an estimated 20 million people, Mr. Ravi said the task of collecting ballots of such magnitude is daunting.

Even the existing absentee voting system is inadequate, according to former army medical corps doctor Major R.S. Rengan. “The ballot doesn’t come in time and there is no online facility,” he said, “Never once could I vote.” After serving in the Armed and Peace Keeping Forces for 15 years, Dr. Rengan said only since he left in 2001 has he been able to cast his vote.

But Mr. Gupta said the EC distributes ballots as soon as the list of candidates is finalised, although he admitted that by the time the ballots go through the unit officers, there may be some delay.

When the absentee voting system has not worked properly for the Armed forces at India’s borders, can the NRIs expect the logistics for overseas voting to be worked out?

Vetri T.V., a brand manager in Shanghai, suggested using an online absentee ballot. “You send an e-mail to the government and verify your information. They give you a password and it’s very secure.”

Others like Uma Mahesh V. in the U.S., said having Indian embassies distribute and collect postal ballots according to the electoral roll would make the process feasible.

Distance is the only thing that’s keeping them from voting. Otherwise, NRIs say they have India’s interests at heart.

J.S. Dattakumar, an accountant in Sharjah, said national security is the issue of primary concern for him. He would like to see some new faces in the political spheres. “I want to see some young people who will give importance to national security,” he said. Allowing NRIs to vote would provide global perspective, because they have seen how issues are dealt with in other countries.

Thus it’s on issues of national scale that NRIs want to be represented. Mr. Mahesh conceded that allowing NRIs to elect local MLAs is not practical. But electing MPs would at least help them have a voice in the Lok Sabha. The option of having a “virtual NRI constituency” has also been suggested by some people.

Additionally, remittances sent by NRIs is more than $25 billion, generating about 3 per cent of India’s GDP, according to Shivakumar Jolad of Voters Without Borders, a group of Indian citizens abroad. “This figure varies widely across states, with Kerala and Punjab topping the list,” Mr. Jalod said. “In Kerala, about 20 per cent of the state GDP is contributed by NRIs residing mainly in Gulf states.”

Now, Mr. Srivatsava said NRIs have an online petition, urging Indian officials to include them in the electoral process. Perhaps their vision is not so far-fetched. Mr. Ravi said an attempt was made to amend RPA was but he hopes this year, members of parliament will take it into consideration.

This article appeared in The Hindu on May 1, 2009.