First Time Valmiki Community to Vote
It has been 76 years since India got independence. India has proved its power on land, sea and air. Powerful nations now look up to India with respect. The government is doing its bit to make India the fifth largest economy in the world. Still, many issues persist in this large and populous country. Many cannot become part of the democratic process even today. A shocking example of this has come from Jammu and Kashmir. The Valmiki community living a few hundred yards away from Gandhi Nagar Market in Bahu Constituency has never ever gone to vote in their life time till now.
The Assembly elections are on in Jammu and Kashmir. The second phase of voting ended on the 18th while the last phase is scheduled on the 1st of next month. This time, 10,000 Valmiki voters in Bahu Constituency will participate in the election process. Until now, Valmiki community members were not granted the right to vote in Assembly elections. Many generations of the community have passed without enjoying the rights available to other citizens. This has caused deep frustration and hurt within the community. Due to a lack of permanent residence status, they were denied many rights. Now, after the abrogation of Article 370, they are finally getting all the rights.
The Valmiki Community: First Time Voters
Garoo Bhati, president of the Valmiki community said, “The Valmiki people were brought from Punjab to Jammu in 1957. They were not given any rights for 67 years. And now, they are finally getting their rights.”. “Our seven generations have been lost; our elderly have died without exercising their rights. Although they did sanitation work on election days, they could not vote. Now, for the first time, we will be voting,” Bhati said. According to him, Articles 370 and 35-A have earlier denied them the rights to exercise them now.
Valmiki Community Development
The good news is that the future looks bright, says Jashpal, an employee in municipal administration. He believes that Valmiki members can now strive for jobs like sanitary inspectors or selection grade supervisors. Until now, sanitation workers could not leave their posts after serving a lifetime without any possibility of elevation. But education and skill development have opened new doors for them. Life feels better now, he said. The earlier sense of alienation of the Valmiki people with others, today they feel on a par with others. Earlier, not even professional courses could be registered for. Jobs were limited to sanitation work after education. All that has changed today.
Long queues are witnessed in Mumbai on May 20 at many polling stations, in this exercise of national voting. Celebrities from Bollywood such as Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, and Akshay Kumar can be seen casting their votes. Actor Akshay Kumar was the first in standing in the queue this morning. Actually, it is his first time voting since he has become an Indian citizen. After casting his vote, he requested his fans to cast their votes.
Voting Rights for the Transgender Community
In the 2019 general elections, 769 transgender voters were enlisted in the electoral roll of Gujarat. In that election, a total of 1,054 transgender people voted throughout the country. Out of the total number, 139 transgender voters from Ahmedabad, followed by 122 voters from Anand, 119 from Vadodara, and Surat had 111 voters. In the 2011 Census, the population count of transgender people in Gujarat was noted to be 11,544 out of which 1,054 were registered voters. The Election Commission of India granted the right of voting to transgender people in 2012.