By Umanand Jaiswal
Hasen Ali, 26, has seen just about everything. He lost his home and shops in an eviction drive nearly two years ago. His younger brother, 19-year-old Haidar Ali, was killed in police firing on protesters allegedly clashing with government personnel carrying out the eviction drive. In four nightmarish days, his family of 10 saw their lives disrupted in ways they could never have imagined.
Hasen’s miseries continue — he and his family, who had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, have now been struck off the voter list for the April 9 single-phase Assembly elections in Assam.
Hasen is not alone.
Around 2,000 voters from in and around Kachutali — a village of Bengali-speaking Muslims, often referred to as Miya Muslims, near Guwahati — find their names removed from the electoral rolls following the eviction exercise that began on September 9, 2024. The firing on protesters took place on September 12 that year, leaving two dead and injuring 22 government employees and 13 civilians.
The affected people now fear those working away from home within and outside the state may find their livelihoods threatened without a valid voter card, which also comes in handy as a proof of identity, age and address. There are many from the affected village who work in Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka, Ali said.
The eviction-affected area does not echo the hum of the upcoming elections, but Kachutali is back in the spotlight because of the voters who got axed.
This story was originally published in telegraphindia.com. Read the full story here.