[Reader-list] UID CARD BENEFIT

[Shashidhar]

Dear Taha,

If you look at the reference material on the net UID project was sanctioned
some 200 odd crores last year, and they have been promised some 1900 crores
this year, I do not where the 1.5 lakh crore figure comes from.  I do not
think people have greatly different notions about identity you ask any one
for his identity he will start by giving you his name, age, education, place
of origin, family tree, lineage, linguistic abilities, hobbies, may be some
caste and daba kuchla stuff.

The uid is the reference point for services, it gives a point of reference
for Indian citizen, there already are so many uid's in place, ration cards,
passports, DL, Now defunct SSI, Persons of Indian origin.  One of the
charters of the UID project is a diagnosis of all such existing measures and
there have been a lot of consultations.

Tell you brother it is always better to be doing something than not doing
anything and keep on deliberating. Or may be we are missing the point of
your discussion completely.

Shashidhar

-----Original Message-----
From: Taha Mehmood [mailto:2tahamehmood at googlemail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 6:01 PM
To: Shashidhar
Cc: Bipin Trivedi; sarai-list
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] UID CARD BENEFIT

Dear Bipin and Shahidhar,

Thank you for your responses.

Enumeration is fine with me. You count a person, you attach a figure.
Simple and straightforward. Any act of governance needs that. I do not have
a problem with it. Identity is a tricky issue. It's a fuzzy issue. The word
is fuzzy. Is it not vague? Does it not mean many things? Can it be be
categorized by a singular notion?


The GOI is transferring 1.5 Lakh crore rupees in the name of identity.
And Bipin I do not know who can define a unit of measurement of identity. I
am not interested in who. I am not bothered by who. Who can be tom, dick or
harry or a sita or a gita or ram or a rahim for all I care.

I am interested in How and Why and What. So I would be glad if you could
forgo who and tell me how identity can be measured, by what means and why
those means represent a true measurement of a person's identity?

Please allow me explain what I mean-

If the pharmacist makes a drug without going into the nature of what
constitutes the elements of that drug, what does that drug do, what illness
can it alleviate and gives that drug to a doctor and the doctor prescribes
that drug to you without diagnosing you, without verifying the nature of
your illness and without establishing whether this drug is the only drug
amongst all the drugs which are available in a market which can alleviate
your illness.

Will you take that drug Bipin? Simply because a doctor of medicine has given
it to you? Will you be so charmed by the packaging of the drug that you will
suspend doubt? Will you be so in awe of man in white clothes that you will
give in because the name tag in front of his room says MD MBBS?  Or will you
allow doubt to enter, Bipin? Think!

In the similar manner, can we not think about the people of India as a body?
Are we not told that some parts of our body are getting weak because they
are not nourished? Are we not prescribed a medicine in the name of UID? Is
it not our responsibility to doubt, both as individuals and as a collective,
to assess whether such a drug is good or not? Because if it a bad drug it
might effect the life of our entire body which includes you and me Bipin.
Who would we blame then, Bipin. Governments come and go. That's the nature
of governance. But we are here to stay. That's the nature of people.

UID is build on the idea of identity. Identity is a fuzzy notion. It is a
vague idea. It means many things to many people. It might mean one thing to
many people. It might also mean many things to one person. Or it might mean
nothing to no one. or every thing to every one. In every case the meaning,
the nature of identity is inconsistent. Should we not allow this
inconsistency in meaning of identity to remain?

Warm regards

Taha