My Poll Tax Can Beat Your Poll Tax

We follow the news back home in Atlanta, Georgia via our internet access to the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper. We also read the national and international news in the online New York Times. We suffered a bit of long distance embarrassment when we saw an article on the NYT editorial page about Georgia’s new voter identification requirement. One would think a generation distant from the Jim Crow days of the South would have more egalitarian values regarding voter enfranchisement. In India, however, for those seeking a seat on a local panchayat, or council, they may not have to bring a voter ID card, but they have to meet new plumbing requirements.

According to an article in the Saturday, 5-November issue of The New Indian Express, having a toilet in the house may soon become mandatory for anyone desiring a position on the panchayat. Apparently the Rural Development Ministry wants all states to amend their Panchayati Raj Act to include a clause to make only those with toilets in their homes eligible to seek a seat on the local council.

The Rural Development Minister noted that 70% of the homes in Haryana, a state near the capital of Delhi, had TV sets, but only 40% had toilets. For those below the poverty line, assistance up to Rs. 1,200 ($27) for the installation of a toilet will be provided. In the state of Chhattisgarh, representatives elected in the last election have one year to get toilets installed. Failure to have adequate facilities will result in removal from the panchayat.

We dread the thought that our State of Georgia representatives may be reading our blog.