The Bureaucracy of Belonging: West Bengal’s Dual CAA Panels and the 2026 SIR Impasse

Officials are cross-checking names on a door-to-door basis, and some voters are being asked by election officers to establish older connections with the electoral roll, particularly records from 2002. In February 2026, the Union Home Ministry established a second empowered committee in West Bengal to accelerate the citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA. This coincided with a Special Intensive Revision or SIR of the state voter list that was ordered by the Supreme Court. The two are currently operating side by side and they have both brought tension within the state. The CAA provides a swift way of access to Indian citizenship to some religious minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who migrated into India prior to December 31, 2014. 

Numerous individuals in the border districts have also applied though approvals have been tardy. The new committee is expected to clear pending cases faster, particularly before the 2026 Assembly elections. Meanwhile, voter lists are also being verified by the Election Commission with the help of SIR. This is not a routine update. Officials are cross-checking names on a door-to-door basis, and some voters are being asked by election officers to establish older connections with the electoral roll, particularly records from 2002. 

To date, more than 60 lakh names are to be deleted and over 30 lakh voters are already “unmapped” i.e. they could not trace their older records. This has raised serious concern among the refugee communities like Matuas. Most of them are afraid that they will lose their voting rights as they await citizenship documents. The Supreme court has intervened and has requested judicial officers to preside over conflict to achieve fairness. Citizenship and right to vote have become inseparable as the elections draw closer. In the case of most families, paper work has become identity and political power.