Many people who were rescued from bonded labour in Tamil Nadu are unsure if
they will be included in the voter list under the SIR.
Most of these freed workers, mainly from the Irula community, now live in
different northern districts. They have received forms from officials, but
they cannot fill in the required details because they were not included in
the voter lists from 2002 or 2005. Many of them have little education and do
not understand the process.
“Officials gave us the forms a week ago and told us to keep our documents ready,
but we don’t know which documents they want,” said 25-year-old H. Durga from
Athiyathur village in Tiruvallur district. She was rescued as a child worker
along with her family and 19 others from a rice mill in Kadambathur in 2016.