Kasaragod Mother-Daughter Duo Holds Rare Distinction: Casting Ballots in Both India and Pakistan
In an extraordinary electoral narrative that transcends national boundaries and historical divides, residents of Kasaragod, Nanda Poojari and her 87-year-old mother Savithri, possess a voting legacy that is virtually unparalleled. Their remarkable life journey, molded by migration, shifting identities, and the enduring reverberations of the 1947 Partition, has granted them the unique privilege of participating in democratic processes in two neighboring nations.
A Twisted Path to Pakistani Citizenship and Back
This mother-daughter pair is believed to be the sole Hindu family from Kerala who, through a series of fateful events, acquired Pakistani citizenship, later returned to India, and ultimately reclaimed their Indian nationality. Following their return, they endured a protracted struggle spanning nearly a decade to secure formal citizenship, which was finally conferred in 2019. This restoration not only reaffirmed their legal standing in their ancestral homeland but also reinstated their fundamental right to vote.
Nanda vividly remembers exercising her franchise at least twice during her time in Pakistan. "I became a voter there upon turning 18. The electoral atmosphere there lacks the vibrancy and enthusiasm we witness here in Kerala," she recounted. "In Kerala, elections are dynamic and spirited. Political party workers and candidates engage directly with the electorate, fostering a palpable sense of energy and civic participation that was conspicuously absent in my experience there."
Cherishing the Franchise After a Long Struggle
Since regaining their Indian citizenship, both Nanda and Savithri have conscientiously participated in every electoral opportunity, including local body polls. They are profoundly aware of the immense value of their hard-won voting rights, having navigated complex bureaucratic and legal hurdles to reclaim them.
The family's saga commenced decades earlier. Nanda's father, Krishna Poojari, was taken from Badiadukka in Kasaragod to Karachi prior to Partition when he was merely 14 years old, to labor in a bakery owned by a businessman from Mangaluru. In the tumultuous aftermath of Partition, he found himself compelled to obtain a Pakistani passport to facilitate his return to his homeland.
A Family Divided by Borders
In 1962, Krishna Poojari returned to Kasaragod on a visit visa, married Savithri, and subsequently took her back to Karachi. The couple established their life there, and their two children, including Nanda, were born and raised in the Pakistani metropolis.
Krishna Poojari passed away in 1988. Over two decades later, in 2009, Savithri and her daughters made the pivotal decision to return to Kasarod. A poignant dimension of their story is that Poojari's brother, Suresh (59), remains in Pakistan and has been unable to visit his mother for the past twelve years due to stringent visa restrictions.
"He managed to visit us twice after we relocated back to India," Nanda explained. "The last visit occurred in 2014. Since that time, he has been consistently unable to secure a visa." Savithri, now in her late eighties, continues to nurture the hope of reuniting with her son once more before her time is done.
This narrative is not merely a personal chronicle but a microcosm of the larger, often painful, human consequences of geopolitical divisions. It underscores themes of displacement, resilience, and the enduring quest for belonging and democratic participation across generations.
