[Reader-list] A Kashmiri migrant is one who speaks Kashmiri and is a migrant or is it?

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear all,

In the last one year, we have had many debates on the reader list. For
instance, the plight of Kashmiri migrants, the historical wrong that has
been committed against them and their legitimate right to lost space and
reallocation of public goods to what is right fully theirs. From the point
of view of the Indian state, the assertion that -A is a Kashmiri- however
has no meaning, unless and other wise it is supported by an identity
document. Even if we consider hypothetically that the Kashmir issue is
solved, then the Kashmiri migrants will have to deal with another set of
problems. They will have to prove that they are Kashmiri and they are
migrants. They can only do that if they have identity documents. Of course
in the Indian context, until now it was very easy to 'arrange' for such
documents. I say until now because the GOI  is considering to issue a unique
national identity number to all the citizens of India. see the notification
below. This number will be a percursor to a digital national identity card
that the GOI plans to introduce later.

In the months to come it will be interesting to observe how politics around
identity in our country will coalesce into contests around procuring
numbers.

regards

Taha**

PS: I want to thank Shivam for bringing this press release to my notice.
PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

*********

GOVERNMENT APPROVES ISSUE OF UNIQUE IDENTITY (UID) NUMBER

TO ALL RESIDENTS

SINGLE UNIVERSAL IDENTIFICATION TO BE READY FOR USERS BY EARLY 2010

UID Number to all Voters to start with

ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIQUE IDENTITY AUTHORITY FOR INDIA Approved

   - Will obviate need for multiple documentary proof
   - Facilitate easy verification
   - Facilitate easy availing of government or private services
   - Help welfare programmes reach intended beneficiaries
   - Serve as basis for e-governance services

*PRESS NOTE*

Department of Information Technology has issued a Press Note as follows:

   An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) headed by the External Affairs
Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherji, approved the establishment of a Unique
Identity Authority for all residents of the country. The UID Authority will
be set up under the Planning Commission. The approval was accorded at a
meeting of the EGOM held on Tuesday, 4th November, 2008. Union Home Minister
and Ministers for IT and Communications, Law and Panchayati Raj are members
of the EGOM while the Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission is a standing
invitee.

   Creation of a person identity system in a country of over a billion
people poses monumental challenges. The approval by the EGOM lays the
foundation for the implementation of a Unique Identity system for all
residents in the country based on a proposal formulated by the Department of
Information Technology at the request of the Planning Commission. The
proposed system envisages collaboration among several government agencies
backed by intensive use of information technology.

   There has been a long felt need in the country for a system of unique
identification of every individual for a variety of purposes such as better
targeting of government's development schemes, regulatory purposes
(including taxation and licensing), security purposes, banking and financial
sector activities, etc. In the absence of such a nationwide system, each
sector of the economy or department/ agency of the government adopts its own
system of identification such as PAN card, ration card, Electoral Photo
Identity Card, credit cards, etc. Such specific purpose identities were
often found to have inherent limitations in accuracy and currency levels on
account of low frequency of usage. Moreover, the multiplicity of such
systems renders it impossible to correlate information across sectors and
even across institutions within the same sector for providing better
services to people. Similarly, different agencies of government are unable
to correlate their data relating to any particular individual.

   The Unique Identity Project seeks to assign a unique identity (UID)
number to each individual in the country that would remain a permanent
identifier right from birth to death of the individual. From the point of
view of any person in the country, the UID offers many benefits. First and
foremost, it would obviate the need for a person to produce multiple
documentary proofs of his identity for availing of any government service,
or private services like opening of a bank account, etc. This would end
needless harassment that people face for availing of basic government
services like issuance of passports, driving licences, Electoral Identity
Cards, etc. Backed by intensive use of technology, it would greatly
facilitate easy verification of a person's identity and enable a single
communication to trigger address changes in all relevant agencies records.
It would also serve as the basis for many e-governance services
incorporating online verification of a person's identity. UID would enable
government to ensure that benefits under various welfare programmes reach
the intended beneficiaries, prevent cornering of benefits by a few people
and minimize frauds. It would enable financial institutions to exchange
information regarding defaulters and encourage responsible borrower
behaviour.

   The scheme envisages that at the inception, the UID number will be
assigned to all voters by building on current electoral roll data and
progressively adding other persons including persons below 18 years of age
who are not a part of the voters list in the country. Over a period of time,
through failsafe procedures backed by intensive use of technology and with
the help of multiple government agencies, the currency and comprehensiveness
of the database will be perfected. The scheme is designed to leverage
intensive usage of the UID for multiple purposes to provide an efficient and
convenient mechanism to update information. Photographs and biometric data
will be added progressively to make the identification foolproof. Easy
registration and information change procedures are envisaged for the benefit
of the people.

   The EGOM also approved the modalities of collation of the UID scheme with
the National Population Register proposed to be created by the Home Ministry
through the Registrar General of the Census of India concurrently with the
census 2011 in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Citizenship Act.

   The UID Authority approved by the EGOM will be responsible for creating
and maintaining the core database and to lay down all necessary procedures
for issuance and usage of UID including arrangements for collection,
validation and authentication of information, proper security of data, rules
for sharing and access to information, safeguards to ensure adequate
protection of privacy and all aspects related to all of these issues. Any
agency, public or private, which deals with individuals and incorporates the
UID number of each such individual in its databases, will be able to share
information with other agencies which do likewise.

   While according its approval to the establishment of the UID Authority,
the EGOM also approved the core staff required to immediately commence the
groundwork of the UID Authority at the Centre and States. The UID Authority
will formulate a detailed proposal covering the full cost of implementation
and for the full contingent of staff needed and place it before the Cabinet
for its approval by the end of December, 2008. The UID is expected to become
available to an initial set of users one year thereafter, by early 2010.

   It is further expected that usage of UID will be progressively extended
to various government programmes and regulatory agencies, as well as private
sector agencies in the banking, financial services, mobile telephony and
other such areas. Over a period of time, the UID is expected to become the
single universal identification mechanism across all institutions of the
government and the private sector in the country.

*Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & IT*
PIB, New Delhi: November  10, 2008 (Kartika 19, 1930)