In our election process, one element stands out as a symbol of participation and integrity. It is the indelible ink. Did you know when indelible ink was first used in Indian elections? Or where it's made? This is the story of the indelible ink An article dated July 19th, 1951, says President Rajendra Prasad gave assent to the Representation of People Bill, the main electoral legislation. The article also says that each voter will be marked with an indelible ink on his or her thumb For the first general elections in India, around 3,16,000 phials of indelible ink were purchased for Rs 1,84,400 However, till 1971, the ink was applied on the finger and not the nail. There was even a report of a would-be-bride in Varanasi deciding not to vote, saying the ink mark will not look good on the wedding day. However, there were worries that the ink mark made on the skin could be removed with rigorous rubbing. It was in 1971 that the Election Commission came up with the idea to mark the ink on the root of the nail so that once dried it will disappear only as the nail grows. Where is the ink made? Since 1962, the ink is manufactured by Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd, a Karnataka government undertaking The ink is based on the formula given by CSIR-National Physical Laboratory The company received its largest order from the Election Commission for 26.55 lakh vials worth ₹55 crore for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections The company also exports to 25 countries including Canada, Malaysia and Maldives So, are you ready to get inked? #generalelections #loksabhaelection2024 #indelibleink #voting Script and production: Gayatri Menon Voiceover: Jude Francis Weston Archive photos: Vibha Sudarshan Thanks to The Hindu Library