Living in the shadows: ‘Widows of Vrindavan’ are the forgotten people this election

Vrindavan (UP): The buzz of electioneering stops where the quiet of their lives begin. Thousands of women, known simply as the ‘Widows of Vrindavan’, have been relegated to the margins even in the noisy, participative general elections with little interest in a group largely without voter IDs.

The women, mostly in their 60s and 70s, have taken refuge in this temple town, abandoned by their families and left with virtually no identity – other than being banded together as women whose husbands have died. Crowded together in dirty rooms and earning about Rs 20 a day, or even less, singing bhajans, there are no promises for them this election season.

And while most are resigned to their fate, some still fight it.

Like Gayatri Mukherjee who regrets she does not have voting rights despite being a citizen of India.

Mukherjee lost her husband and her only daughter to cancer and came to Vrindavan after repaying the loan taken from their treatment “I voted in every election in Kolkata. I am a citizen of this country and I feel that I should also take part in this festival of democracy. Perhaps this is not possible now, so what will be the point of mourning,” said the politically aware 67-year-old.

Anita Das, also abandoned by her family, knows an election is around the corner but has come to stoically accept that there is nothing for women like her.

“I am 80 now. I tried but now at this age what will I do even after getting recognition as a voter. It is better to spend my last moments peacefully taking Krishna’s name rather than wandering from door-to-door," she told PTI while waiting for her turn to sing in a temple.

“I know that elections are happening. The condition of Bengal is also serious but I want to live peacefully here. There is no interest left neither in casting vote nor in getting Voter ID made.” Das came to Vrindavan from Kolkata after the death of her husband 17 years ago and has spent a major part of her widowed life in the bylanes of Vrindavan, which falls in the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency.

Mahananda, who came here 15 years ago after she couldn’t live on at her home in Maharashtra because of her daughter-in-law’s harassment after her husband’s death, said, "I have an Aadhar card but do not have a voter ID. Who do I ask to get it made?” In the world’s biggest festival of democracy when politicians across parties are trying to attract the voters, the widows, without any social capital, find they have no political capital either because most are not registered voters.

Their stories find echo in every corner of the narrow streets of Vrindavan, Radhakund and Govardhan where the women in white sarees are either found begging, standing outside a temple waiting for 'bhandara' (free food), or singing bhajans for hours for a meagre Rs 20.

Many have accepted political indifference as their destiny, coming to terms with the fact that they are not voters and therefore don’t matter. They comprise less than one per cent of the more than 18 lakh voters in constituency.

Although there is no official figure, NGOs working in the area estimate that the number of widows living here could be between 10,000 and 12,000 and they are mostly from West Bengal. With limited resources, it is difficult for the women to clear the many hurdles to a voter card.

They were last counted in 2007 after which there is no official data, said Winnie Singh, co-founder and executive director of the Maitri Widow Ashram.

“Now women are coming here not only from Bengal but also from states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh. I get 25 to 30 calls every day. We are taking care of 400 women but a much larger number are those who are compelled to live on the streets,” she said.

“Only five to seven per cent of these might have a voter ID. We got Aadhar cards made, many bank accounts were also opened but now we are tired of visiting government offices for voter IDs. It doesn't matter to anyone whether they vote or not," she added.

Most of the widows are unwilling to move too far from the town because it will keep them from accessing the Krishna temples and their everyday routine of ‘darshan’ and ‘bhajans’.

BJP MP from the area Hema Malini agreed that the widows are reluctant to move from where they are.

“We care for them and that's why we built Krishna Kutir in 2018 with all modern facilities. But it's difficult to convince them to stay there. They want to live where they are living. What can we do?” she asked.

Some found places in private or government ashrams but most of them share cramped and dirty rented rooms. They get a token for singing bhajans in the city of temples and after singing bhajans for four hours, they get Rs 10 with tea and one meal. You also have to wait for a long time for your turn to sing bhajans.

The Mathura Lok Sabha constituency is set to hold elections on April 26 during Phase 2 of the voting schedule. Two-time MP and actor Hema Malini will face competition from Mukesh Dhangar of the Congress and Suresh Singh of the BSP.

As politicians across the spectrum woo voters, these are the women left out. Many say they have accepted their fate and have nothing but an anonymous death in the bylanes of Brijbhoomi.