India voter roll purge sparks protests: 'How do you explain 130 million names deleted?'

Anger over changes to India's electoral rolls has erupted into street protests, creating a political crisis for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government. At the center of the dispute is the removal of roughly 130 million names from voter lists — a figure that critics say is far too large to be explained by routine cleanup. One of those affected is Shahida Fakir, a resident of a small village in West Bengal. Fakir had always assumed her right to vote was secure — until it was taken away. She gave officials her Indian birth certificate and family land documents dating back to 1962. Both her parents had appeared on the electoral roll for decades, and she submitted that proof as well. When the final revised voter list was published in April, Fakir's name was not on it. For voters like Fakir, the question is simple: if the documents are valid and the family history is documented, why was she removed? That question now echoes across India's streets.