AIZAWL: A small religious community in Mizoram’s border town of Champhai has chosen to remain outside the state’s formal identification systems, with members citing religious beliefs surrounding the number ‘666’, described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation as the “Number of the Beast”.
The belief has kept 67 members of the “Delete Church” away from the electoral roll and, in some cases, from schools, welfare schemes and other services requiring formal identification.
Members of the community told Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Garima Gupta that they had deliberately stayed away from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as voter registration and associated documentation were incompatible with their religious beliefs.
Gupta visited Zotland in Champhai town, near the Myanmar border, to meet the community and understand its concerns. The interaction remained cordial, but the members maintained their decision not to register as voters.
The community’s concern centres on the number 666, which appears in Revelation 13:18 and has acquired significance in Christian traditions as the “Number of the Beast”. Their apprehension about encountering or carrying the number through official identification systems has led some members to avoid Aadhaar cards, bank accounts, driving licences and ration cards. Some have also declined formal school enrolment for their children.
Of the 67 members, an estimated 30 to 40 were believed to be eligible for voter registration, while more than 20 were minors. Their absence from the electoral system therefore reflected a religious choice rather than a lack of awareness about the revision exercise.
Gupta was accompanied by Joint CEO Ethel Rothanpuii, Champhai District Election Officer Ngulzathuama and Lalchhuanawma Ralte, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer for the Champhai South Assembly constituency.
The meeting took place as Mizoram’s SIR exercise, which began on May 20, entered its final phase. The final electoral roll was scheduled to be published on September 7.
