Voting as a privilege and duty

National Voters’ Day is usually marked by ritual affirmation, speeches on turnout, tributes to the Election Commission, and photographs of first-time voters holding their EPIC cards. This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message added a sharper moral frame. Voting, he said, is not merely a constitutional entitlement but the greatest privilege and responsibility in a democracy. The voter, in his words, is the bhagya vidhata, the shaper of India’s development journey. The statement invites reflection not only on participation, but on the conditions that make participation meaningful.

India often describes itself as the world’s largest democracy. Increasingly, it also asserts its civilisational credentials as the Mother of Democracy. Both claims rest on scale, history, and continuity. Universal adult suffrage from the first general election was a radical choice for a poor, newly independent country. That decision reflected faith in the wisdom of ordinary citizens. The indelible ink on a finger, which the Prime Minister called a badge of honour, continues to symbolise that trust.

Yet the health of a democracy is measured not only by the act of voting, but by the integrity of the system that surrounds it. National Voters’ Day, observed on January 25 to mark the foundation of the Election Commission of India, is therefore as much about institutions as it is about individuals. It raises a deeper question: whether the promise of participation is accessible, fair, and credible to every eligible citizen.

The Election Commission’s record over the decades is formidable. It has conducted eighteen general elections and hundreds of Assembly elections across terrains ranging from Himalayan villages to island communities. Its administrative reach and logistical innovation are frequently cited internationally. Recent reforms underline a clear push towards voter convenience and transparency, including faster delivery
of EPIC cards, webcasting at polling stations, redesigned voter information slips, and tighter caps on voters per booth to reduce crowding.

Technology has become central to this effort. Platforms such as cVIGIL allow citizens to report violations quickly, while digitisation has improved efficiency across the electoral cycle, from enrolment to result dissemination. India’s electoral management systems are now being showcased globally, with the country offering to share digital platforms and training expertise with other democracies. The Delhi Declaration adopted earlier this month places India firmly within a growing international conversation on electoral integrity.

These advances matter because participation is not automatic. It must be cultivated. Prime Minister Modi’s emphasis on first time voters and young people acknowledges this reality. Welcoming new voters, celebrating their enrolment, and embedding democratic values in schools and colleges are not merely symbolic gestures. They are investments in democratic continuity. Programmes under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation initiative have shown that sustained outreach can deepen awareness, particularly among youth and historically marginalised groups.

Equally important is the rising participation of women voters. As the Prime Minister noted, the engagement of Nari Shakti has strengthened the foundations of Indian democracy. In several recent elections, women’s turnout has matched or exceeded that of men, reshaping political calculations and public policy priorities. This shift has been gradual, but its implications are enduring.

However, participation cannot be reduced to turnout figures alone. The credibility of the electoral roll remains the invisible backbone of the voting process. Clean rolls are essential for inclusion, but they also raise difficult questions about exclusion. Recent Special Intensive Revision exercises in some states have triggered public concern, with civil society groups flagging deletions without adequate notice, onerous documentation requirements, and weak grievance redress mechanisms.

The anxiety is not abstract. Those most vulnerable to exclusion tend to be the poor, migrant workers, residents of urban informal settlements, Dalit and Adivasi communities, minorities, and first-time voters. Maintaining accurate electoral rolls is a constitutional necessity. No democracy can function if ineligible names persist or genuine errors go uncorrected. Yet the method matters as much as the objective. If revision exercises erode trust or deter participation, they risk undermining the democratic spirit they seek to protect.

President Droupadi Murmu’s address on National Voters’ Day offered a complementary perspective. She urged citizens to exercise their vote with wisdom, resisting allurement, prejudice, and misinformation. In an age of polarised politics and digital disinformation, this is a timely reminder. The right to vote is not only about choice, but about judgment. The constitutional principle of one person, one vote rests on the belief that citizens can weigh competing claims and act in the public interest.

This places responsibility not only on voters, but on institutions and political actors. Electoral authorities must ensure clarity, accountability, and due process. Political parties must respect both the rules of competition and the spirit of the Model Code of Conduct. Media and digital platforms, too, shape democratic behaviour and must recognise their role in enabling informed debate rather than amplifying noise.

Prime Minister Modi’s framing of voting as both privilege and duty resonates within this broader context. Participation is not passive. It is an ongoing engagement with democratic norms. Celebrating National Voters’ Day at nearly eleven lakh polling booths across the country is impressive, but its deeper value lies in what follows. Are citizens encouraged to verify their enrolment, understand procedures, and seek remedies when errors occur. Are first time voters treated as stakeholders rather than statistics.

India’s democratic journey has always balanced scale with sensitivity. The system must be robust enough to manage hundreds of millions of voters, yet humane enough to safeguard individual rights. As India projects its electoral expertise globally and assumes leadership roles in international democratic institutions, it must also respond to domestic anxieties with openness and institutional confidence. 

National Voters’ Day 2026, themed “My India, My Vote”, places the citizen at the heart of democracy. That idea is not a given. It is a task. Voting may indeed be the greatest privilege in a democracy, but it retains meaning only when every eligible citizen can exercise it without fear, confusion, or exclusion. The indelible ink on the finger must endure not merely as a symbol of participation, but as a marker of trust.

The author is a political scientist whose work examines democratic institutions, legislative behaviour and the ways in which information systems shape public reasoning.