[Reader-list] On Kafka and 'unintended benefits' of smart cards.

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear Atreyee,

Thank you for your response. To a certain extent I agree with your
view. That is why, perhaps I am not too comfortable with responding to
a proposal for MNIC card in absolute terms.  I would like to think
that socio-political margins are the starting point for introduction
of any new artefact to not only govern or map but also to test and
harvest the efficacies of such devices.

In this regard, I think it would be a good idea to bear in mind that
while the urban marginalised, the jhoppadpatti citizen maybe thinking
of turning this 'horrible'ness into a certain domesticated-ness
through stretegic use', the rural marginalised is still searching for
answers, even though he maybe a legitimate citizen. Consider for
instance a report by Jyoti Thapa Mani published in the Business world
on March, 14, 2008. According to this report the officials of the
census bureau failed to verify and accord citizenship status of forty
eight residents of Chamoli district of Uttrakhand, a state in north of
India. People like Kirti Singh Bist, Devendra Gusain and Kuldip Singh
Rana were categorized as foreigners because they speak in Nepali, a
language, which is not considered to be Indian.

( valid url- http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/Miscellaneous/Identity-Crisis.html
)

Maybe in the unfolding of this new artifact we have to see not just in
terms of clearly delineating categories like  -bizzare- or the
-horrible- but a mix of both, in a sense of bizarrely horrible or
horribly bizzare !!

 In the realm of public policy debate of course, we have to bear in
mind the good of all; now in an overwhelming rural country like ours,
I struggling to draw the line. I do not undermine the sheer
inventiveness of the urban marginalized to find a way through the
system but in broader terms I do not know for sure whose good will a
national identity card, serve in the long run?

At the same time I do not want to reflect on MNIC and its implications
or intended or unintended benefits only in terms of poor alone. The
debate around unequal citizenship also comes into play when one starts
to look at how MNIC be used to map and measure nearly 25 million
oversees Indians.

Warm regards

Taha

http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/Miscellaneous/Identity-Crisis.html

CITIZENSHIP
Identity Crisis

Citizenship issues plague Nepali-speaking Indians too

JYOTI THAPA MANI
14 March 2008

Kirti Singh Bist, devendra gusain and kuldip Singh Rana are among 48
residents of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand who, despite holding
identity cards issued by the Election Commissioner of India, have been
categorised as foreigners and have had their ration cards cancelled by
the district supply officer. Why? Because they speak the Nepali
language.

In neighbouring Pithoragarh district, in village Darim-Khola, Karam
Chandra Baral, a fifth-generation Indian domicile resident (whose
ancestors came from Nepal), owns a portion of land duly registered and
mutated in his name. However, he cannot build his house on it, because
the revenue authorities and Pithoragarh Police identified him as a
Nepalese citizen. Baral is also threatened with dispossession of his
lawfully purchased land.



In Nagpur, Maharashtra, Sitaram Thapa, a permanent employee at Kishen
Gurunanak School since 1995, worked as a night guard on a gross
monthly salary of Rs 6,000. He was told his salary was to be reduced
to Rs 2,500 as a casual labourer because the Maharashtra Education
Department had no provisions for employment of guards. When the matter
was taken up in the Nagpur Lower Court, the school in its affidavit
claimed that Thapa was a Nepalese citizen. Subsequently, in January
2008, the Court asked Thapa to prove his Indian citizenship.

All three acts happen to be unconstitutional. The Eighth Schedule of
the Indian Constitution lists Nepali among 22 recognised Indian
languages. And the 1950 India-Nepal Friendship Treaty allows citizens
of both countries full access to all privileges on both sides of the
border. Article 7 of the Treaty states: “The Governments of India and
Nepal agree to grant, on reciprocal basis, to the nationals of one
country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the
matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and
commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature.”

Says D.S. Garbiyal, district magistrate of Chamoli, “The ration card
cancellation is under enquiry at the sub-district magistrate’s court.”
Meanwhile, the 48 Nepali-speaking people in Chamoli continue to
starve.

Nepalese and Indians have common ethnic roots from time immemorial. In
fact, Uttarakhand, parts of Himachal Pradesh and Nepal formed one
country, duly recognised as such by the British-India rule. In 1815,
by virtue of the Treaty of Sagauli signed between Nepal and
British-India, Nepal had to cede Kumaon, Garhwal, today’s Himachal
Pradesh, the Terai region and Sikkim-Darjeeling to British India. The
Treaty of 1860 returned the Terai lowlands to Nepal. And then came the
1950 Treaty.

Today, Nepal performs the role of service provider to India,
especially to Indian defence, while Indians are largely business
investors in Nepal. Top Indian industrial houses, such as Dabur and
ITC, have substantial business presence in Nepal. The Nepali-speaking
population in India comprises mainly of Indian Gorkhas (descendants of
the Indian Gorkha regiment from the 19th century), India-domiciled
Nepalese migrants, Nepali-speaking Indians of non-Nepalese descent and
Nepalese citizens serving in India. The fourth is the only foreign
category, but is still protected by Article 7 of the 1950 Treaty.

The free flow of people between the two countries has created another
problem. There are millions of people of Nepalese origin living in
India for decades and vice versa, who do not posses either Indian or
Nepali citizenship papers. They face dissolution of their property,
non-grant of ration cards or even pensions, alongside the trauma of
suddenly being categorised as illegal migrants.

The introduction of the Muti-purpose National Identity Card (MNIC) by
the UPA government in 2006 has made matters worse. The objective of
this card is to increase national security, manage citizen identity
and facilitate e-governance. In simple words, flush out infiltrators.
This pilot project has been launched in 20 select infiltration-prone
sub-districts of 13 states and Union Territories. The MNIC has led to
bonafide Indian citizens being clubbed with other illegal migrants,
especially because when MNIC was introduced, no details of the 1950
Treaty were provided to the various states.

It is obvious that the 1950 Treaty, though still existent on paper,
has ceased to be functional on the ground, leading to h arassment of
vulnerable people by exploiters, land-grabbers, and politicians
playing ethnic games.

jyoti.thapa at abp.inThis email address is being protected from spam
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(Businessworld 18-24 March 2008)