In India, indelible ink is manufactured only by Mysore Paint and Varnish Company of Karnataka.
Bihar Election 2025: Blue ink on the finger marks the voting. Amidst the noise of Bihar elections, election ink has also come into discussion. The ink which 35 countries of the world are buying from India. Its beginning has also been interesting. After independence, when general elections were held for the first time in 1951-52, there were many cases when many people voted in the name of someone else. That means many people voted more than once. The complaints increased and finally The matters reached the Election Commission.
Different ideas were put forward to find a solution to this. Ultimately the Commission thought that a mark should be made on the voter’s finger which would not be easily erased. So that it becomes clear that he has voted. After this the big question arose that who would prepare it and is it possible? After much deliberation, the Commission reached out to the National Physical Laboratory of India to find a solution.
How was the solution found?
When the Commission contacted the National Physical Laboratory of India (NPL) to find a solution, NPL prepared such an ink which could not be erased with water or chemicals. The order to make this ink was given to Mysore Paint and Varnish Company. The company produced ink that became proof of voting. From then till now, this same company from Mysore, Karnataka has been manufacturing election ink. It is prepared in Mysore and that too with a secret formula.
Why the trend of applying it first on the finger, then on the nail?
Till the year 1971 and before, indelible ink was applied on the finger, but in the meantime, many such reports came in which people refused to apply it on the finger. A girl from Varanasi refused to get it tattooed because this mark did not look good on her finger on the wedding day. There was also a fear that it could be removed by rubbing. After this, the Election Commission changed the rules in 1971. The practice of applying it on the nails instead of the fingers was started so that as the nails grow, the mark disappears.
What is there in ink that does not erase?
It was invented by the National Physical Laboratory of India (NPL) in the year 1952 and behind it was the hard work of the scientists of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Silver nitrate is used to make it. Science says that the silver nitrate present in the ink combines with the sodium present in the body to form sodium chloride, then the blue ink turns black. It thickens as soon as it comes in contact with water. Soap also proves ineffective on this.
Its complete formula is still a secret. Neither the National Physical Laboratory of India nor the Paint and Varnish Limited of Mysore made it public. The special thing is that apart from the Mysore company, no other company has the right to make this ink. This Mysore company has been making this indelible ink for decades and is exporting it to more than 35 countries of the world.
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