Nothing showcases the diversity of our country as beautifully or as starkly as India at the polls. When we stepped out to exercise our own franchise today, aside from the gargantuan choice at stake, it was the sheer dynamism of the crowds that thronged the polling grounds that really stood out. In what is perhaps one of the rarest displays of equality in this country, people of all religions, castes, creeds and economic backgrounds queued up behind one another to cast their vote and in that moment, we truly were all the same.
This spurred us on a mission to see what it was like in other phases of the elections thus far and naturally, we found the overarching theme to be similar.In true Homegrown fashion, we couldn’t help but chronicle the beauty of the largest democratic act in the history of the world, in images. Scroll on to bask in the same.
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A woman shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote at a polling station in Majuli, a large river island in the Brahmaputra river, Jorhat district, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, India. Image Source: Reuters/Adnan Abidi
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Indian women stand in a queue to cast their votes in Rajnandgaon, India. Image Source: DNA.com
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Image Source: Online.wsj.com
Image Source: Bloomberg.com
An Indian man casts his vote on the outskirts of Jaipur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, India. Image Source: dawn.com
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An elderly Naga man casts his vote in a voting center at Senapati, in Manipur state, India, April 9, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of people in long-winding lines voted Wednesday in the insurgency-wracked remote northeast of India in the second phase of the county's national elections. The multiphase voting across the country runs until May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of parliament. Image source: AP Photo/Anupam Nath
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A woman squats as she waits to cast her vote at Sirohi district in Rajasthan. Image Source: ibtimes.co.uk
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A woman shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote. Image Source: todayonline.com
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A woman casts her vote inside a booth at a polling station in Majuli, a large river island in the Brahmaputra river, Jorhat district. Image Source: ibtimes.co.uk
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A disabled man comes out of a polling booth after casting his vote in Alwar, Rajasthan. Image Source: AFP photo
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A Kashmiri Muslim voter has her finger marked with ink before casting her ballot at a polling station at Bijbehara some 42kms south of Srinagar. Image Source: AFP photo
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A Kashmiri Muslim woman casts her ballot at a polling station. Image Source: hindutantimes.com
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A Kashmiri Muslim woman looks on after casting her ballot at a polling booth. Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
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A polling officer marks the finger of a woman voter at a polling booth. Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
India police look over the elections. Image Source: Reuters
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Army officers patrol near a polling station in Bijbehara, some 42kms south of Srinagar. Image Source: AFP photo
By-Ashutosh-Pandey-and-Swetha-Gopinath
Woman leaves after casting her vote as others wait in a queue at a polling station in Shabazpur Dor village.
A woman holding her child votes inside a polling station on the outskirts of Jammu. Image Source: Reuters
Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
Image Source: okok1111111111.blogspot.in
Indian voters wear Mysore ink mark as symbol of democratic privilege. Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
Image Source: okok1111111111.blogspot.in
Image Source: Ahmad Masood
Voters wait to cast their votes at a polling station in Bangalore. Image Source: Reuters
Image Source: BestPix.com
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Voters wanting to cast their ballot look at voters lists to find their voting station at a polling station in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Image source: AFP photo
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Women queue to cast their votes at a polling booth in Alwar, Rajasthan. Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
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Women voter queue to cast their votes at Gailpuri in Alwar, Rajasthan. Image Source: AFP photo
Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
Image Source: Hindustantimes.com
Image Source: nbcnews.com