Kolkata- Minority organisations, mosque committees and senior clerics across West Bengal have launched a statewide mobilisation drive to assist Muslims in filing enumeration forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, as concerns over possible harassment and confusion grow among them ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.

Imams and social groups have started issuing public appeals not only from nearly 40,000 mosques but also through outreach programmes in Muslim-majority areas across the state, urging residents to remain calm, fill up SIR forms carefully and avoid panic.

Qazi Fazlur Rehman, the Imam-eh-din who leads the annual Red Road prayers in Kolkata, told PTI that religious leaders were playing a proactive role in guiding citizens.

“Imams have a duty beyond the pulpit. We are telling people not to panic and guiding them through the SIR process. Mosque committees are helping citizens fill up forms correctly because awareness is needed to help people overcome fear and confusion,” he said.

The SIR, which began on November 4, involves over 80,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) visiting homes to distribute forms and verify documents. The month-long exercise will continue till December 4, with draft rolls to be published on December 9.

Claims and objections can be filed till January 8, followed by hearings till January 31, before the final rolls are released on February 7 next year, ahead of the state high-stakes election.

A warning came from Maulana Shafique Qasmi, Imam of Kolkata's Nakhoda Masjid, who said that conducting SIR for nearly 10 crore people in such a compressed timeline“may not be possible” and could lead to harassment.

“This will turn into harassment, sir. The government is meant to help people, not trouble them,” Qasmi said.

He said poor and marginalised families, particularly those without organised records, have already been under stress.

The Nakhoda Masjid and several other major mosques have begun holding daily training sessions outside prayer halls and conducting help desks to guide people through the SIR process, Qasmi said.

Asserting that deaths and migration over the past decade had complicated verification, he proposes that the Election Commission should issue“life certificates confirming that an individual is alive”.

Qasmi claimed that distress linked to the verification exercise had already resulted in several deaths.

Parallel to clerical initiatives, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's Bengal unit, led by Minority Affairs Minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury, has launched a massive awareness drive using its network of 16 lakh members, 625 units in 22 districts, 1,100 madrasas, 1.65 lakh students and 25,000 teachers.

“With this entire setup, we are carrying out this programme. About 200 camps are running, and more are being added regularly,” he said.

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