#GoodNews: Two Delhi Class XII Students Are Helping Adults to Vote

They started an initiative called ‘My Voice My Vote’ and have been holding meets to show how to acquire a voter ID.

A man gets inked after casting vote. Image used for representation.

(Photo: Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his shortest Independence Day speech, had spoken of the 133 million young adults who will vote for the first time in the 2019 polls. He called it a “decisive year of their lives” and “creators of destiny of our nation”.

Siya Malhotra and Noor Takkar, both Class XII students in Delhi, are aware of the importance of exercising their franchise and are educating other adults, especially migrant labourers coming in from other states, to do the same, said a Times of India report.

The duo started an initiative called ‘My Voice My Vote (MVMV)’ and have been holding meetings to make others aware about how to acquire voter IDs or other identification cards, including Aadhaar.

We taught people that getting a voter ID card was not a complicated process. Most of them did not know, for instance, that age proof is not required for anyone over 21 or that a registered postal letter received in the applicant’s name at a particular address serves as proof of residence.

Siya Malhotra to <i>TOI</i>

The two used to hold English classes for slum kids at Kusumpur Pahari in 2013. That was when they realised that their parents did not possess any IDs and started the ‘MVMV’ registration drive.

Malhotra said that “they had not bothered to learn about the benefits of identity papers” and many had had “discouraging experiences” in the past.

“Many of them were reluctant to approach the authorities for work or benefits because of such experiences,” she said, following which they started holding workshops to instill confidence in them.

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