[Reader-list] Rahul Gandhi to be guest of honour at workshop on NREGA- 204

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear Ram,

Just as I do not respond to each and every thread or point of
discussion on the list so to I do not think it is fair to expect
responses from each and everyone on the RL on a topic which is as
bizzare as national identity cards because I am sure other list
members like me would like to follow their own interests.

Having said that I must acknowledge I have always felt a deep sense of
gratitude towards Jeebesh, Rakesh, Rajen, Kshmendra, Inder,
Taraprakash, Rana, AS Malik, Rahul and others who have responded on
and off to threads on MNIC/UIDAI. Their thoughts have enriched the
debate in small but significant ways, their responses have pushed me
to deeply introspect about ways in which one could articulate about
the idea of a national identity card in India and their rebuttals have
made the debate robust.

 It is but natural that one cannot expect to reflect on this issue on
a 24 hr basis. So yes there are times when the threads on UIDAI are
silent sometimes as their are times when the threads dance to a
constant volley of point-counter point.

I think if you were to look at the material posted on the list in the
last one year or so, then you may perhaps get a sense of a range or
shall we say a spectrum of ideas which has been covered thus far.

There has been a slow but a steady sedimentation of views on national
identity cards which is spread over a full twelve month period till
now.

 I would like to believe that my position in this regard has been to
create a public archive, a public research archive on the idea of
identity, identification practices, surveillance, the business of
security, on notions of fake and original identities, on the idea of
traces and memory, on data and database and on personalities, the
principal characters who are scripting the story of UIDAI in India-
and simultaneously I make a small effort to pull  primary, secondary
and tertiary research material from as many sources as possible.

I hope that instead of merely taking a public school debate like
positions like a simple yes or no, you could perhaps help us in
thinking about this issue in far much more detail. To be honest we are
not interested in black and white issues maybe because we know the
answers, it's as clear as apples and oranges, we are more interested
in exploring the gray areas. The What Ifs and What Nots really? The
Whys  and Hows? I invite you to join us in this debate and bring your
own set of perspectives on the table.

Let me disappoint you slightly by suggesting that here it is neither a
Jung hai yeh awaam ki, nor apne zameer ki we are merely thinking aloud
here....

Warm regards

Taha