[Reader-list] To Taha

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear Sandeep

Thank you for your mail.

You mention-

identity politics can be good time pass or research project if the point is
to expose their hollowness without mercy and tolerance of stupidities of
these actors whether oppressed or wannabe oppressed.

I agree to this view but there can additional interpretations also, like the
objective of the research could be to generate knowledge on any proposed
co-relationships. In this instance, we are asked to believe that exists a
relationship between a person and all those properties which signify him. We
are asked to believe that this basket of signifiers has a name i.e.
identity. We are further asked to believe that all those properties that
encompass this name can be measured.

>From what I have gathered I have not yet come across a satisfactory
explanation of this measurement. On the contrary all existing equations of
measurement are arbitrary and prone to human error. The rhetoric of identity
cards is sleek and sophisticated. The government and other agencies both in
the private and public domain are indulging in a huge public relations
exercise to market this technology as the ultimate solution. I have my
doubts with respect to the fundamental definition of identity and
identification process. I believe these doubts are valid. A survey of
literature made available in the public domain by the Government of India do
not allay any fears or uncertainties with respect to these doubts. The
literature in form of parliamentary debates, questions asked in the Lok
Sabha and in Rajya Sabha in the last ten years, policy statements, planning
commission reports, notices, reports produced by eminent management
institutes like Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad, press
briefings  neither expound or explicate any satisfaction definition or
imagination of identity. Amongst these deep abysses of angularity I see
mountains of certainty and confidence in so far as public posturing of the
government and private sector is concerned. I wonder why is no one asking
any questions?

Regarding your second point- As far as national id cards hehehe they will
give state bit better control and their production,distribution etc will
create lot of jobs thus reducing both poverty and insecurity LOL

I completely agree with you that an investment in production and
distribution will create jobs. But it seems to me that the underlying
assumption in this argument is, Government must not shy from investing
money, even if it of the tune of 27000 crores, in all exercises which create
jobs. If that is so, then being a third world country, being a poor nation
where farmers are still committing suicides, where almost six lakh people
are still working as manual scavengers, why is our Government not looking at
the good of these people who belong to the most vulnerable sections of our
society.

The question we need to ask with respect to the proposed redistribution of
money in favor of all those companies who are going to produce and
distribute these unclear measures of identity is: Is this transfer of money
just?

 Is this a just re-distribution?

Will the poorest of the poor not get harmed or deprived of what is
rightfully theirs by this transfer?

What is the opportunity cost of 27000 crores?

How can this money be deployed elsewhere to garner greater social capital?

Regards

Taha






On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 2:54 PM, Sandeep <vashsand at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Identity poltics can be good time pass or resersch project if the point is
> to expose their hollowness without mercy and tolerence of stupidities of
> these actors whether oppressed or wannabe oppressed. As far as i think both
> oppressed and oppressors when they play identity game they want to change
> Supreme opressors, and do nothing about social inequality, democratic rights
> etc. In other words every oppressed mniority wants a space where it can
> oppress others. Israel and pakistan r great example of this game.
>
> As far as national id cards hehehe they will give state bit better control
> and their production,distribution etc will creat lot of jobs thus reducing
> both poverty and insecurity LOL
>
> Enjoy the spectacle
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