Number games before NRC update
Pankaj Borthakur, Guwahati (Nov 2): Brushing aside earlier apprehensions, the government has decided to go ahead with issuing the Unique Identification (UID) number to residents in Assam like other states where the exercise has already reached an advanced stage.
The 16-digit number, also called Aadhar, would be given to residents in Assam on the basis of the data compiled in the 2011 Census. The number, however, will not give citizenship status to the holder.
The main objective is to compile a centralized database of all inhabitants in the country. A highly placed official at the state home department said: “The number will not grant citizenship to anybody and so there is no point in delaying the exercise.”
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) is implementing the project through the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which is headed by former Infosys chief executive officer Nandan Nilekani. It has also opened an office in Guwahati.
The authority had concluded a memorandum of understanding with the state government in 2010 for the project but it has been delayed since it would depend heavily on the Census data.
Digitisation of the data for Assam is yet to be completed by the Census department in New Delhi. Other documents like ration cards, driving licences, bank passbooks and local residence certificates would also be taken into account for issuing the card.
Scanning of eye retinas and finger prints is mandatory in the process of registering under the UID system to prevent duplication of identities. In the Northeast, Tripura and Sikkim are the other states where the project has reached an advanced stage.
“In Assam, the works are being initiated while in Tripura about 90 per cent has already been completed,” said assistant director general of UIDAI, Devajit Khound.
But unlike these two states, the exercise in Assam passed through a phase of indecisiveness and confusion. The authority had initiated preliminary work for data collection in 2010 in Guwahati only to stop it after a few months.
When the scheme was announced by the Centre years ago, it raised concern among the indigenous population and civil society organisations in the state since it was imagined that the Aadhar card would serve as the basis for claiming citizenship.
The opposition has, however, fizzled out after it was known that the aim of the scheme is only to generate data. On the contrary, top officials are of the view that the database would help in detection of alien citizens since they would not be able forge their identities after being given registered.
They added that the database could be an “effective tool” to update the National Register of Citizens which is expected to be started soon in upper Assam.
“But the government must ensure us that no illegal migrant would be able to use the card as an evidence to claim citizenship,” said Aasu adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhatacharyya.