ESM and Jawans Right to Vote

Surprisingly, even after a lapse of 61 years from our independence, the Indian soldiers serving at different parts of the country and abroad, are not empowered or enabled to exercise their franchise. Out of approximately 14 lakhs serving soldiers, majority of them do not get an opportunity to cast their votes, either because their names do not appear in the voters' list or do not get the postal ballots in time, for which the District administration is entirely responsible. This anomaly needs to be corrected well before the forthcoming general election. This can be done only through concerted , combined and coordinated efforts by the district administration as well as by the military commanders at the unit and formation level.

The Commanding Officers should be made responsible to ensure that all men under their command and their family members are included in the voters list. There are orders and procedures existing on this important aspect. Similarly, the unit administration should monitor the receipt of the ballot papers in time and the soldiers should be made aware of their responsibility towards the election process of the country. The data on such exercise should be collected, collated and processed at the concerned level by the military authorities, to ensure that the soldiers as responsible citizens, do fulfill their duties in the sacred process of franchise. Then only a soldier will feel that he is not only a mere defender of the country's democratic form of government, but also a participant in the process of making the government.

Major Mathew Oommen (Retd)

Comment: All ESM organisations like the apex IESM, IESL and the like should educate all its members in actively participating in the election process by casting their votes. It is the duty of every citizen to cast a vote. Australia is the only nation in the world that penalises its citizens if they do not vote by fining them. Resulting in 96 percent of the population casting their votes.