In a modest home in Majh Para village in Jamalpur block, East Burdwan, 104-year-old Sk Ibrahim reflects on a life that has spanned the birth of a nation. He has voted in every election since independence. For him, casting a ballot was never a routine act. It was a duty shaped by history.
Today, that long record stands in question.
The special intensive revision of West Bengal’s electoral roll has placed his name under the category of ‘under adjudication’. The reason is a discrepancy. In 2002, the voters’ list recorded him as Sk Ibrahim. In the 2025 roll, his name appears as Ibrahim Sk. That reversal has triggered official scrutiny.
Ibrahim asks a simple question. Is it a crime to live beyond 100 years?
A Discrepancy That Threatens a Right
He has a family; however, his family members claim that a centenarian (a person at least 100 years of age) did receive a notice requesting he attend a public meeting (called a hearing). Travel to the public meeting site with the proper documentation was impossible due to his age and physical limitations. A joint electoral registration officer will now be visiting the man at his residence to hold the hearing; however, the matter has not yet been resolved by either party.
Currently, the future of the centenarian will be determined by a judicial officer approving the sufficiency of the provided documents.
Jamalpur BDO (Block Development Officer) Partha Sarathi Dey confirmed that the situation would be addressed by the local authority. The family have been waiting for a long time to find out if they will be allowed to vote in the upcoming elections. For Ibrahim and his family to have voted for 78 years of their lives only to lose that right because of an administrative error (i.e., notice to meet at a public location) is extremely difficult for them.
Memories of Gandhi and a Changing India
Ibrahim remembers vividly many events and feels fortunate to remember events such as Gandhi’s call for “I’ll do it or die” during India’s independence movement (the Quit India agitation).
He remembers the construction (1936 to 1942) of Howrah Bridge, which replaced the old pontoon bridge, and remembers his working as a bedding dealer in Jorasanko Thakur Bari in the mid-1930s.
In addition, he remembers India separating into two countries, great famines, riots and wars, and has even seen how India transitioned from British rule to being a vibrant democracy. Principally, he remembers how happy he was when India became an independent nation.
Ibrahim has six ) children. His children live separately in villages, and they all come together to celebrate events such as when government officials come to do inspections and to review all necessary documents required for the government to be compliant with their laws. Ibrahim’s children have ensured that all authorities have all necessary documentation.
Ibrahim has lived during the entire timeline of modern-day India and is distressed at what he sees currently happening with the country. The ballot used to be a thing of hope and opportunity for millions, and now due to clerical discrepancies with the order of names on his ballot, this has become an obstacle that could prevent him from voting.
In the end, the outcome of whether Ibrahim can vote will be determined by the actions of the court, and Ibrahim’s ability to vote in this year’s election will determine if he has an opportunity to continue being one of West Bengal’s longest-serving voters or to forever discontinue this tradition.
