Shyam Saran Negi

Shyam Saran Negi
Shyam Saran Negi after casting his vote for HP Legislative Assembly elections in 2017
Born(1917-07-01)1 July 1917[1]
Kalpa, Kinnaur, Bushahr State, British Raj
(present-day Himachal Pradesh, India)
Died5 November 2022(2022-11-05) (aged 105)
Kalpa, Kinnaur, India
Alma materHimachal Pradesh University
Panjab University
National School of Drama
OccupationTeacher
Known forFirst voter of Independent India

Shyam Saran Negi (1 July 1917 – 5 November 2022) was an Indian school teacher in Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh, who cast the first vote in the 1951 general election in India[2][3] — the nation's first election since the end of the British Rule in 1947. Although most of the polling for that first election took place in February 1952, Himachal Pradesh went to the polls six months early because the weather there tends to be inclement in February and March and heavy snowfall during that period would have made it impossible for citizens to reach the polling stations.[4][5] Negi was a member of the polling team and vividly recalled that he cast his first vote in Shonthong polling station and his polling party had to trek long distances to conduct polling in Purvani – Ribba – Moarang – Nesong over a period of 10 days. Negi cast the first vote on 25 October 1951.[6] He voted in every general election since 1951 until his death, and is believed to have been India's oldest voter as well as its first.[4][7] Shyam Saran Negi also made a special appearance in a Hindi film Sanam Re.[8]

Negi died on 5 November 2022, at the age of 105,[9][10] just three days after casting his vote for the 34th time.[11] Following the news of his death, the Indian Government announced that Negi would be cremated with full state honours in Kalpa.[12]

  1. ^ "'Like a Ph.D': How Election Commission tracked India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi after 45 years". Hindustan Times. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Independent India's first voter: 100 and ailing, keen to vote in 2019". 5 September 2017.
  3. ^ "India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi casts his vote at Kalpa". 7 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b India's first voter in Himachal Pradesh, by Gautam Dhmeer, in the Deccan Herald; published 30 October 2012; retrieved 7 April 2014
  5. ^ "Shyam Saran Negi and the ballot have an age-defying connection". The Hindu. PTI. 6 November 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  6. ^ "India's first voter fulfils his duty again". The Hindu. PTI. 7 May 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  7. ^ "India's first voter 100 year old Shyam Saran Negi upbeat to vote once more". The Indian Express.
  8. ^ "India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi set for acting debut in Bollywood". Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  9. ^ Bodh, Anand (5 November 2022). "India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi passes away at 106 in Himachal's Kalpa, to be cremated with full state honour". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Shyam Saran Negi: Man dubbed 'India's first voter' dies aged 105". BBC News. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  11. ^ "India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi dies in Himachal Pradesh". The Hindu. 5 November 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  12. ^ Binley, Alex (5 November 2022). "Shyam Saran Negi: Man dubbed 'India's first voter' dies aged 105". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2022.