Anxiety amongst Muslims as SIR begins in Pune, many reach out to BLOs

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jul 2, 2026 12:56 AM IST

“Many don’t have documents of their parents or grandparents available with them. So we have told people to collect these documents and have passport sized photographs ready with them for the SIR,” he added.

Block Level Officer (BLO) Jyotsna Shinde was seated at a resident’s house in Marketyard, Pune, helping him fill out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Enumeration Form. While she was in conversation with the resident, her phone buzzed.

“Ma’am, where are you? I will come give you my family’s documents,” said Mushraf Ali Peerzada, the voice on the other side. Even though Shinde assured him that she would visit his residence to collect his information, Peerzada insisted on getting his family’s enumeration process started. Within a few minutes, he arrived at the location and provided necessary identity documents like passport-sized photos of his family members to the BLO.

“I have gotten at least six to seven such calls since the morning. They are all from Muslim families. They are anxious and insist that they will come and deliver their documents to us even if we tell them we will be visiting their house over the next few days,” said Swati Owhal, another BLO working in the same region.

‘The SIR is currently being conducted by the Election Commission of India in various states. The door-to-door distribution of enumeration forms commenced in Maharashtra on June 30 and will continue till July 29.

The controversial SIR in West Bengal left over 27 lakh people out of the voter rolls “under adjudication” over “logical discrepancies”. These people were not allowed to vote in the 2026 assembly election, in which the BJP emerged victorious for the first time in the state.

A BLO from the Kondhwa Khurd region said that he had received five calls from Muslim families on July 1. During the pre-SIR mapping process, the BLO said he received around 40 to 50 calls, 90 per cent of which were from Muslim families.

Anjum Inamdar, President of the Muslim Moolnivasi Manch, told The Indian Express, “There is a fear of deletion of names amongst the Muslim community. We saw what happened in West Bengal. Various organisations including us have tried to spread awareness amongst our community about the importance of the SIR. If their names get deleted from the voter roll, they will not be able to vote. And if you are not able to vote, you are not a citizen of the country, right?”

“Many don’t have documents of their parents or grandparents available with them. So we have told people to collect these documents and have passport sized photographs ready with them for the SIR,” he added.

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Similarly, Imran Shaikh of Jamat-e-Islami Hind said that there is fear amongst the community about their names being deleted. “We have pasted posters in various places and circulated photos on Whatsapp to increase awareness of the SIR. We have helped our neighbours during the pre-mapping process, Muslim or non-Muslim.”

Shaikh pointed out that discrepancies in spellings in different documents amongst Muslims were common as the name ‘Mohammad’ has at least three commonly used spellings. “At our office in Camp we have kept aside 6 pm to 8 pm on Thursday and Friday specifically to help with SIR. We have helped thousands of people till now. BLOs are now doing door-to-door visits. The BLOs have been helpful and are cooperating with us.”

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting.

Professional Background

Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune.

Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics.

Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure.

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories:

1. Investigations & Governance

"Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents.

"44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families.

2. Education & Campus Life

Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University.

"Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial.

"Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers.

3. Human Rights & Social Issues

"Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India.

"'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying.

Signature Style

Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty.

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