Cloistered nuns to vote in Karnataka assembly polls

The last time these nuns went out together was to register for Aadhar cards, a year ago.

(Photo: sistersofcarmel.org)

Bangalore:  Even the confines of their convent cannot restrict these nuns to exercise their franchise in the Karnataka assembly polls on May 5.

The 17 nuns of the Cloistered Carmelite Convent hardly meet any one outside the convent, behind grilled and curtain windows in their convent but they are determined to step out on the election day to vote.

Elections are one of those rare occasions when these nuns see the outside world.

"We are citizens like anyone else, we vote," says the Mother Superior of the convent.

The nuns' zeal to participate in the democratic process is in sharp contrast with the middle-class apathy to voting.

Unlike thousands of residents of the city, all the 17 inmates of the Cloistered Carmelite Convent have got their voter's identity card.

Having voted in the past, the nuns are aware of the intricacies of electronic voting machines.

"Does it still have two buttons against each party, or only one?" a nun curiously asked behind grilled windows.

However, the nuns are not really aware of the contestants in the fray in the Shivajinagar assembly constituency where they have been registered as voters.

"We will vote for a party that promises peace, safety and freedom to practice one's own religion. We have not made any collective decision. Each one of us is free to elect any candidate of her choice," the Mother Superior adds.

The only politician who visited the convent asking for votes in the past has been H T Sangliana, the current vice chairperson of National Commission for Minorities and former parliamentarian.

The last time these nuns went out together was to register for Aadhar cards, a year ago.

The youngest of the convent's nuns is 20 years old, and the oldest is 89. They prepare their own food, stitch their own clothes and are financially independent.

"We prepare communion wafer, the sacramental bread sold to various churches for 1.20 rupees each. We make no profit and are just able to meet our meager expenditure with the help of Good Samaritan friends and the bank deposit," a nun explains.

Source: Times of India