Bengal polls 2026: SIR strikes ‘gutli man’ of India off electoral roll

KOLKATA: Jasmit Singh Arora, popularly known as the ‘Gutli Man of India' for his nationwide mission to collect discarded mango seeds and turn them into fruit-bearing trees, has been deleted from the electoral roll.

The 54-year-old entrepreneur-turned-environmentalist has been living in Bangur for 46 years now and had his name on the 2002 voter list. While Jasmit has been struck off the electoral list, his wife and daughter, who mapped themselves to Jasmit, are on the electoral roll.




"This entire exercise has turned into a joke. There is no algorithm, no pattern and no reason for deletion. I was not called for any hearing but suddenly discovered that my name has been deleted when the final roll was published. My wife, who came from Amritsar, and my daughter are there on the voter list. My wife's name has ‘wife of Jasmit Singh Arora' written there but Jasmit Singh Arora's name is not there," said Jasmit, adding, "Upon inquiring, I was told to file fresh application."

He is an Ayurvedic doctor by education but doesn't practise. "My bread and butter is my Ayurvedic medicine business and I am into full-time environmental social service," said Jasmit, adding that he has initiated a green movement across India, connecting schoolchildren and farmers.

"Through the ‘Gutli Mission', I collect mango seeds from across the country. Even people from Sweden, Australia and New Zealand are sending seeds. Schools, Army personnel and the BSF have joined in. With these seeds, I make saplings and then graft them. Normally, a mango tree takes 15 years to grow but I reduce the gestation period to two-three years through grafting. Through my ‘Tree ka langar' initiative, I distribute them to the farmers. The farmers know which breed they are growing and when they will get results. It improves biodiversity and also helps the farmers earn more," he explained.

The ‘Gutli Man' rued that even after having a passport and travelling across the country and world, his name was deleted randomly. "A short film was made on me and my initiative by SRFTI. It was widely acclaimed. I am well known for my social work. Even after that, my name got struck off. I will not be able to exercise my voting right this election and will have to go through a lot of hassle to get my voting right back. I do not know whether to laugh or cry," Jasmit added.
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