Twice Orphaned: SIR strips Kolkata-born Keralite of voting rights, identity

KOLKATA: 50-year-old Benjamin (“Benji” of Belegatta, Kolkata) says the state has once again left him an orphan. The Electoral Commission’s top electoral roll official has removed his name, severing his only formal link to an electorate. The effort was meant to clean up the list, but it left borderline cases like his stuck in a dilemma between identity and evidence because the families living in them didn’t meet the documentation threshold. Benji grew up an orphan, losing his mother at birth and his father soon after. After spending time in a Kerala orphanage, he ran away, joined a circus, and at the age of 21 was brought to Calcutta to work as a shop help. A few months later, he was taken in by Jayantha Balal, who ran a fast-food stall. Benji has been living with the Barral family since 1999 and calls octogenarian Padmalani Barral his mother. The arrangement gave him stability and, ultimately, citizenship on paper. After years of persuasion, he applied for a voter ID card and cast his vote before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also had a ration card. This fragile understanding collapsed during the SIR. In his enumeration, Bunji again appointed Padmalani as guardian. This time, the relationship was not officially accepted. With no record of his biological parents – whose names he could not recall – his case stalled at a hearing and his name was redacted. “For the first time in my lonely life, I feel important during the 2024 LS elections,” he said. “After that, the loss of rights will be more painful.” Around the stall where he has worked for decades, regulars say the paperwork trumps presence. Benge is now looking for a way to get back on the roster – through documents, affidavits and appeals – trying to prove his existence.