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Every time I have travelled to rural India, I have been astounded by how much the people of urban India take access to basic necessities for granted. These necessities remain a dream for some people, as I learned recently while travelling in north Maharashtra, a State known to be progressive.
During a visit to Jalgaon in the sub-region of Khandesh, the District Collector, Ayush Prasad, suggested that I visit Ambapani hamlet in Yawal tehsil to get a first-hand experience on how polls are conducted. This is an area without roads or concrete pathways, phone connectivity, or public transport.
As the steep, muddy pathway that leads to the hamlet is uneven, passes through forest area, and can only accommodate one two-wheeler at a time, officials walk to Ambapani hamlet with electronic voting machines. The Pawara tribal people who live in this region do not live in clusters; they occupy land in the hills and build homes away from one another. Apart from the lack of mobile network, I was surprised to find that there was no electricity or water connection in the area with a population of 810. Of them, 310 were registered voters and had voter IDs. They said that they voted for the first time in 1994. Back then, they walked 13 km to the nearest gram panchayat in Moharale village to exercise their franchise.
The people felt they do not matter to the government. They were unaware of the political parties in the fray and their party symbols. They said they had never seen an election campaign and no political party had ever visited them. But they said they would vote nevertheless. “We were told to vote. We were told it is our duty to do so,” said Rupsing Bajarya Pawara, a resident.
How then do you decide to select a political party, I asked. Swali Bai Pawara, 35, giggled. “We do not understand these pictures (party symbols) on the box (ballot box), so we press whatever appeals to us the most,” she said.
They did not know why they were expected to vote either. I told them that voting enables citizens to elect people to power and to make their voices heard. They laughed. “Are you joking? Who are these people who will make our lives better? You have come here, you have seen how difficult it is to reach here. Why would anyone want to visit us,” asked Rambai Pawara, a resident. Ungya Gurja Pawara, another resident, asked me whether the voting process could really make their life better and if so, how.
Then why do you vote, I asked. They said that they feared the forest department would displace them.
I found similar reasons driven by fear in the hamlets of Nandurbar in Satpura range. In Nashik’s Trimbakeshwar tehsil, the Warli, Katkari, and Kokni tribal people do not have government supplies such as ration, but they vote religiously. This is because, they said, they feared they would be declared dead if they do not. “What if the government strikes off my name from their document if I do not vote? My family has to suffer then,” said Bhaudu Ramu Pingle, a resident.
In India, there is great buzz about the Lok Sabha election. Political parties campaign daily, their remarks make front-page headlines. But travelling to remote corners of one of the largest States, I realised that in some parts of India, communities are still waiting for their voices to be heard. These tribal communities play a role in electoral politics, but they do not make informed decisions. It is not pride, anger, or even a wish for change that drives them; it is fear of losing something. These are people who have religiously exercised their franchise, but unfortunately, they have got nothing in return.
