New Delhi, June 23 -- Modern democracies rarely deteriorate through abrupt constitutional collapse. More often, democratic erosion proceeds through administrative procedures that appear neutral, technical, and legally justified while producing deeply unequal political consequences.

The Election Commission of India's (ECI) recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, and its subsequent expansion to other states, has emerged as a significant site for examining the relationship between citizenship, nationalism, and political exclusion. Although officially justified as an exercise to ensure the "purity" and accuracy of electoral rolls, the SIR has generated widespread concern regarding the disproportionate marginaliza...