Wed Dec 03 03:00:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text and a rewritten version as a news article:
Summary:
An op-ed piece in The Hindu criticizes the Election Commission of India (EC) for relying on outdated, paper-based electoral rolls from 2002-2004 for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The author, Rajeev Kumar, a former professor of computer science, argues that this flawed foundation leads to errors, inefficiencies, and prevents a truly modern and credible electoral system. The author highlights inconsistencies, searchability issues, and the burden placed on voters and Booth Level Officers (BLOs). He proposes a fully digitized SIR 2026, advocating for data integration, differentiated voter categories, fully online EF submissions, and digitizing all steps for a more transparent and reliable process powered by technology.
News Article:
Electoral Roll Revision Plagued by Outdated Data, Experts Warn
The Hindu, December 3, 2025 – The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) reliance on decades-old, paper-based electoral rolls for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has drawn sharp criticism, with experts warning of inherent flaws and inefficiencies.
According to Rajeev Kumar, a former professor of computer science, the continued use of 2002-2004 records, which were created manually and are prone to errors, undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
“A flawed foundation can never produce a strong system,” Kumar writes in an op-ed published in The Hindu today. “Faulty datasets always yield unreliable results.”
Kumar points to various issues, including incomplete entries, spelling errors, and searchability problems within the system. He states that even the ECI’s advanced ECINet system cannot compensate for the outdated source data.
The article highlights the burden placed on voters and Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who are forced to navigate a cumbersome paper-based process, despite the availability of digital solutions. Many voters struggle to recall decades-old voting locations, and BLOs face challenges in digitizing large volumes of paper forms.
Kumar proposes a fully digitized SIR 2026, advocating for the integration of various data sources, online form submissions, and the use of mobile digital kiosks to assist voters. He argues that these reforms are “straightforward, feasible, and implementable,” and would lead to a more transparent, reliable, and user-friendly electoral system.
“A digital SIR is not optional; it is indispensable,” Kumar concludes. “SIR 2026 must become a trust revolution powered by technology, transparency, verification, and integrity.”
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