Hyderabad: Two organisations in Telangana have urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana to provide voter Enumeration Forms in English, Telugu and Urdu for the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 exercise.
In a representation submitted on June 16, Association for Socio-Economic Empowerment of the Marginalised (ASEEM) and Access to Justice Network (ADALAH) expressed concern that the forms proposed for the SIR exercise are currently available only in Telugu.
As per the organisations, forms in a single language could create difficulties for many voters who are unable to read or understand Telugu.
Urdu second official language
According to the representation, Urdu is officially recognised as Telangana’s second official language while English is widely used by citizens when dealing with government procedures and official documentation.
The groups said that providing forms only in Telugu may lead to confusion, inconvenience and the exclusion of genuine voters from the revision process.
The organisations also referred to the 2002 SIR exercise during which voter information was reportedly collected largely in Telugu. They claimed that the process resulted in several errors related to names, addresses and other personal details. Similar issues could arise again if voters are required to fill forms in a language they do not understand, the representation noted.
Impact on poor during Telangana SIR
The groups further said that such mistakes could have a greater impact on poor, vulnerable and marginalised sections of society.
Stressing that the objective of the SIR exercise is to maintain an accurate and inclusive electoral roll, the organisations said that voters should be provided forms in languages they can read and understand.
They have requested the ECI and the Telangana CEO to take immediate steps to make Enumeration Forms available in English, Telugu and Urdu across the state.
