Numbered Lives

Most importantly, the card gives a National Identity Number to each citizen, and also features finger biometrics and a photograph of the individual. In other words, this is the definitive dossier on that particular citizen.

The objectives of the scheme are said to be enhancing internal security, and addressing illegal migration. The Citizenship Act, 1955, was amended and notified in 2003 to include a section on registration of citizens and issuing of identity cards.

The cards also involve the creation of a National Register of Indian Citizens, which will incorporate all the details and updates whenever crucial variables changed, eg when people got married, migrated or changed their name.

So, when President A P J Abdul Kalam, in his Independence Day-eve address to the nation last week, referred to the need for national ID cards to secure India, he wasn8217;t merely making a suggestion.

Border Postings

DURING the NDA regime, the Group of Ministers set up to look at Reforming the National Security System had centred the project around security, especially in view of rising concerns over illegal migration. The government then wanted compulsory registration of citizens and non-citizens living in India; while citizens were to be given MNICs, non-citizens were to be issued identity cards of a different colour and design. The card scheme was to be introduced along border districts; starting 20 km inside the border, the process was to slowly move inland.

After the UPA came to power, the scheme seemed to have slipped to the backburner, apparently because it segued less well with its policies than the NDA philosophy of the illegal migrant being a key contributor to the 8216;security threat8217; faced by India.

But the MNIC idea was far from over. Though hush-hush, the MNIC pilot projects in 13 states8212;Assam, Jammu 038; Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, UP, Tripura, West Bengal, Goa, Delhi, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu8212;were given a quiet go-ahead by the Home Ministry in July 2004. The projects are said to be in their final stages.

Cost 038; Effect

A PART of the process is the MNIC Centre in each district. The interface of citizens and the government, it also serves as the hub for updating information on citizens. The nodal centre for the pilot projects as a whole is the Census Office in New Delhi. But the chief implementation officer of the project, Deputy Registrar-General S K Chakravarty, says he is 8220;not authorised to speak to the media while the pilots are going on.8221;

According to Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal, 8220;The NDA decision is yet to be okayed by the UPA, but it has not been trashed either. Once the pilot project is completed, a decision will be taken on the roll-out in the entire country.8221;

Initially, the government had said they would bear the full cost of the cards. Jaiswal said that he did not know exactly how much the scheme would cost, but added that the estimate of nearly Rs 6000 crores as initial costs for the scheme is not prohibitive 8220;if spread out over several years8221;.

Moreover, he said, 8220;if after the pilots we decide the cards will serve a purpose, then the cost is not high.8221;

Roll Call

WHILE card supporters argue that the documents will pave the way for targeted social and economic programmes, there is considerable resistance to the scheme as well. Some years ago, the Election Commission8217;s scheme of making Voter ID cards the sole criterion for identity ran into not just practical problems, but one of desirability as well, with members of some minority communities fearing they would become easy to isolate through such 8216;identification8217; exercises.

But some, like Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind8217;s Maulana Mahmood Madani, believe it just may end discrimination. 8220;In Assam, because of the existence of a few illegal migrants, the entire Muslim community and even non-Muslim Bengalis are harassed. Once this card comes through, things might just improve, as legitimate Indian Muslims will have a card to ensure they are not harassed because of their lungi, beard or cap,8221; he said.