Aadhaar and the cobwebs

The Editorial, “Voluntarily mandatory” (The Hindu, Sept. 30, 2013), explaining what is voluntary and what is mandatory in the Aadhaar programme was very helpful. This is a point that was generally missed in public discussions of the programme.

         Instead of keeping the mandatory National Population Registration and the voluntary Unique ID Numbering separate, the UIDAI confused the people with the overt and covert support of a number of government agencies that they were a single programme. Many obviously believed that without the Aadhaar number they would miss various subsidies and services; that they would lose even their citizenship even if they possessed other identity proofs. The long queues in front of Aadhaar registration centres were formed by those who were evidently anxious about this threat. After the Supreme Court clearing the air and after spending thousands of crores of rupees, what the UIDAI will do next is worth watching.