A news report last week from the Anamalai Mountains of Tamil Nadu state in southern India indicates that the people in a Kadar village there are unconcerned about the Indian elections.

One person interviewed asked what the elections were for, and when told they were to elect members to parliament, she wondered what they would do. “There is no change in our living conditions and people like you should tell us the utility of sending representatives to places like Parliament,” she told the reporter.

Another Kadar complained that the village did not have water or electricity, and that a solar collector provided by the government did not work. Further, there is no work for them, so there is no source of income. An elderly man does appreciate an old age pension he receives, however.

Another man is clueless about the purposes of the election, but he complains about the challenges of living in the forest without medical care. “An insect bit my eyes and there is no facility here to get it treated,” he said.

Political candidates in Tamil Nadu do not bother to visit the Kadar village, much like Jharkhand politicians mentioned in the news three weeks ago, who do not campaign in Birhor villages.