The revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is but a recent example of the cruel surprises sprung on the toiling masses by the powers that be, who deeply distrust the very people in whom sovereignty rests

(Clockwise from top left) Queues outside a bank after the government announced demonetisation of high denomination currency notes in 2016; thousands of migrant workers take to a highway to return to their villages in UP and Bihar; the lockdown imposed in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370; farmers stage a protest at the Delhi-Haryana border against the Centre’s farm laws in late 2020. Pics/PTI

Bihar’s experience shows that administering periodic shocks to people, regardless of the harassment inflicted upon them, has now become an established State policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ostensible purpose of this policy is to build a more moral, secure, prosperous India under the overarching ideology of Hindutva. Its outcomes have decidedly favoured the wealthier classes, rather than the toiling masses.

It's because of the State’s shock and harass policy that the people of Bihar have been suddenly asked to provide proof of their citizenship for registering as voters. Tormented by the nightmare of being disenfranchised, they desperately scramble around to procure one of the 11 citizenship documents the Election Commission of India has listed.

The State’s shock and harass policy began to evolve from November 8, 2016, when high-denomination currency notes were demonetised on four hours’ notice, leading to interminable queues at banks to exchange them for the new banknotes.........

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