Fingerprint and Iris code for Aadhaar

Free Thinker *

When you enter a so called advanced country they take your fingerprints and also keep a record of your iris or eye-ball. And sometimes they ask you to remove your clothes for checking. Our VVIPs or ministers and famous film stars have to undergo the same ordeal, except for the PM and the President.

Just for the sake of entering a foreign country we are ready to do everything including moving through an x-ray vision channel (showing everything). There is no hassle to remain naked in front of the foreign eyes because you are entering them.

A few years back, I read a news report that our President (former) was about to do all the uneasy formalities when he was asked to do so at an Airport in the United States; due to timely intervention from the Indian Embassy officials the embarrassment was avoided. In fact, our simple President wanted to follow the rules and regulations of the Americans Airports which includes removing of all covers of the body including the soaks.

My innocuous question to those who are critical about giving their fingerprints and iris-copy is that why should we be so reluctant to provide such records to our own government? If the government thinks that such information is useful for the safety and security of the country, for the distributing subsidies or foods or other beneficiaries to the citizens, or for income-tax purposes, or for establishing identity of people, what is wrong with that?

Nearly 20% of the population is below the poverty line at the national level. In our State, lacs of people are living from hand to mouth. That is the reason why we come across ladies selling petrol in bottles along the roads. I don’t think they do this for fun or for breaking the law.

And also, we find hordes of men (daily wage earners) in the morning at identifiable labor markets. And these days in every bazar of the state the number of hawkers and venders are on the rise.

Linking Aadhaar with livelihood should be the first thing to do. This may be my utopian idea. But we can’t deny the very fact that the first priority of a human being is to survive. So, once you have the Aadhaar it should be the responsibility of the State to give you food, clothing and shelter.

After that they won’t mind to link their Aaadhaars with everything and anything in the country. Rich men, elites, intellectuals and leaders may have reservations for Aadhaar. But they can’t question the State policy which is done in good faith.

Whenever Government launches a new card, the first claimants are the migrants coming from neighboring countries. They are the one who will have a Ration card, voter’s ID, Pan card, Aadhaar and even Passport (if possible).

The natives and true citizens don’t bother much about these cards or documents; they make these cards only when they require them. If Aadhaar is made mandatory they will do the needful.

Aadhaar is certainly not an instrument to make the us unsafe and insecure. There are many good arguments for linking Aadhaar with many of our systems and services in the country. However, Aadhaar is not made mandatory in Assam, J&K and Meghalaya for filing Income Tax returns. There must be some valid reasons for this exemption.

If the Sovereign power wants your life for the sake of the country you have to oblige. Once there was a system called ‘conscription’ in Europe and America under which every young man was to work as soldier in the national army at least for some few years. One might come back alive or not, nobody knew. That was the call of the country or the nation and they had to comply dutifully.

For AADHAAR the country is not asking your life or hands or your eye-balls, the requirement is only your fingerprint and a copy of your iris. What is so fussy about it? Even if some unscrupulous elements have hacked and misused them, what is the problem? These are the inevitable risks and challenges of the digital and cyber world.

When the PENTAGON is hacked can our AADHAAR or EVMs be far behind? But we must move on finding solutions to the occuring and recurring problems.