[Reader-list] Universal ID: Going beyond smart cards & databases- 186

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear Murli,

Thank you for your mail. Let me just take your thoughts forward, by
bringing forth my views, which are, as follows-


> First : It will be easy to identify a visitor but a visitor need not require
> a UAID card. The most difficult part would be to identify a citizen as for
> several years illegal immigrants have settled from the neighboring countries
> and most probably have got a ration card, voter id etc.

First: How does one categorize someone as a -visitor-? Does such a
statement not assume that one -knows- who is a -native-? Can there be
other ways of looking at people apart from colonial categories of
-natives- and -foreigners-?

> Second : It will be difficult to envisage an integrated system 20-25years
> hence. The ideal way would be to to identify the methodology for uniqueness,
> methodology to first identify citizens alone (The rest of the category could
> come in later), issuance of the card, which probably has to be completed in
> about 2 years with integration to the existing IDs like PAN, Voter ID etc.
> The implementation of the integration to other dept.s which till date do not
> have their concept of identity database could be done in a phased manner
> over about 5 years.

Second: If in the last 160 (ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY) years people could
not identify other people as they claim to be, then how does one
arrives, even at a tentative figure of 20-25 or for the matter 320-325
years? Does a methodology of uniqueness not assume that a person will
remain that person from birth till death? If a ship were to go through
wear and tear and has to be fitted with new parts and old parts had to
be taken down, to such a time when no part of the old ship or an
original  part of 'same' ship, remains the same then would you still
prefer to assume that ship to be the -same ship- which it was say
twenty-twenty five years ago? Does identity not mean to ascertain for
all times to come that a particular person -is-as-same-as- she/he
claims to be?


> Third & Fourth : Issuance of duplicate would not be difficult if the ID is
> based on BIO-metics as the person requesting would have to go in person and
> the info from the database could be automatically picked and the necessary
> hard copy of the ID could be regenarated. The type of Updates will have to
> be prioritised and will have to implemented n a phased manner.

Third & Fourth : Does a statement like the one elucidated above not
assume that ALL persons can go in person? What about the migrant
laborer? (1/4 to 1/3 of India is on the move continuously, the whole
year round- either in search for work or working in areas not of their
domicile)  What about the elderly and the invalid? What about the
sick, the chronically sick, and what about those who are too impaired
to not to care at all?


> Fifth : The start point will have to be from the birth. This would provide
> statistics for the CENSUS dept and also give indicators on the rate of
> growth of population.

Fifth : Are ALL births registered in India? Can birth certificates not
be forged or duplicated through exchange of sufficient monetary
benefits to right staff?

> Sixth : Estabilishing Links with relationships will expand as the system
> gets implemented across departments.

Sixth: Does this statement not assume that no relationships or links
exist now? Is that the case? If no, then why not the procedures which
exist right now are not streamlined?

Warm regards

Taha