Young people march for democracy: for Jesuit Prakash: “A journey to preserve India’s soul”

Young people are marching in New Delhi and various state capitals across India today, October 23, to protest the revision of electoral rolls. The demonstrations, organized by the national network People Against Special Intensive Revision, call for institutional reforms and the protection of voting rights.

The movement challenges how the Election Commission of India has updated voter lists, alleging that a centralized cleansing process has removed approximately 130 million citizens from the registers. Protesters claim this process deprives these individuals of their right to vote and accuse the government of using the revision as a political weapon to disproportionately exclude minorities, the poorest citizens, and internal migrants.

Participants are calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, criticizing his handling of the process as unilateral and opaque. Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest focused on human rights and social justice, told Agenzia Fides that the mobilization reflects a commitment to truth and justice among youth movements.