Jharkhand SIR: Deep inside the forested heart of Jharkhand’s Khunti district, a small Munda settlement is quietly resisting the state’s electoral roll revision — not through protests or slogans, but by refusing to recognise the need for official identity documents altogether.
In Barbanda village, members of the community identify themselves as the ‘AC community’, with ‘AC’ standing for ‘Ante Christum’ (before Christ). They prefix ‘AC’ to their names, believing they are among the land’s earliest inhabitants whose identity predates modern citizenship and documentation.
“We don’t need any documents. We existed before the birth of Christ. That is why we use AC before our names,” a resident AC Mangra Munda told Times of India.
The community’s refusal
to participate in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls reflects a broader withdrawal from government systems. Residents told the news outlet that they do not possess Aadhaar cards or other identity documents, do not avail themselves of ration benefits, and prefer to live according to traditional customs.
Nestled amid forests, the hamlet is lined with mud houses topped with clay-tiled roofs. Farming remains the primary occupation, with residents cultivating rice, millets, black gram and vegetables. Modern conveniences such as cooking gas and electronic gadgets are largely absent, while traditional attire and customs continue to define daily life, as per the report.
Men dress in white dhotis with shirts or kurtas and traditional headgear, while women wear white saris. Community members also said they neither smoke nor drink ‘hariya’, the local rice brew.
Election officials, however, have struggled to persuade the villagers to submit enumeration forms.
“They say they will live according to the laws of nature,” booth-level officer Dulari Horo told the news outlet while making another attempt to collect the forms before the deadline.
Officials also noted that although children attend school, many do not consume midday meals, births often take place at home, and several newborns remain unregistered with government authorities.
According to Khunti Sadar BDO Jyoti Kumari, 27 eligible voters in Barbanda have refused to participate in the electoral roll revision. Across at least 15 polling booths in Khunti block, nearly 700 people had not submitted enumeration forms.
Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said authorities would continue engaging with the community but warned that those who do not participate in the exercise could eventually lose their names from the electoral rolls.
For now, the residents of Barbanda remain steadfast in their belief that their identity is rooted not in official records, but in ancestry, tradition and a way of life they say existed long before modern states and citizenship documents.
