[Reader-list] Regarding the notion of signifier and signified.

Taha Mehmood 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com
Sun Dec 28 21:26:30 IST 2008


Dear Taraprakash,

Thank you for your mail.

I think as legitimate Citizens of a country don't you feel that it is our
duty to give to Government what it legitimately asks from us? Don't you
think that it is unlawful to hide what is lawfully required from us, like
tax for instance? I feel it is our obligation to give taxes as it is our
obligation to expect just distribution of the money. If we feel that that
disbursement is not just then I think our democracy allows us a discursive
space to talk about it.

Hence, if our government asks us to submit data regarding our identities,
then we should do that unhesitatingly but at the same time as responsible
citizens we must ask questions as what is being done with respect to that
data? How is that data collected? Is the process of collection of that data
just? What are problems or issues that the government has so far encountered
with the collection of that data? How is the government thinking of
resolving those issues?

Insofar as the question of poor benefiting from an identity document is
concerned, then can you please give me a precedent where we have a clear
cost benefit analysis as to the success of such a scheme? For instance, it
would be indeed a relief to read about a country in this world wherein the
poor of that nation have been able to un-clutch themselves from poverty
primarily because they have a digital identity card. I think economists all
over must be very interested in reading about it.

Furthermore I think that you are absolutely right when you suggest that some
sort of judicial agency must be the sole custodians of our identity but I
feel that for that to happen we need to pass some constitutional amendments
to make Judiciary accountable for our identities. Collection of information
related to individuals comes under the Registrar General of India. This
department comes under Ministry of Home Affairs. Don't you feel that perhaps
your suggestion is a bit far fetched. For the Judiciary is already reeling
under backlog of thousands of cases. And I would like to know that what
makes you think that Judiciary in India absolutely trustworthy. I think we
must leave all these procedural issues to those who are equipped to deal
with them. I certainly do not have either any power or an understanding
insofar as thinking about logistics of this exercise is concerned.

What I know is that as a citizen it is my obligation to ask basic questions
about the proposed National identity Card.

I am interested in talking about this seeming co-relationship between the
issuance of an identity card and stabilization of the idea of identity. Will
this national identity card be able to stabilize my identity? What will this
card do that other cards have claimed and not done? How will this card be
not similar to other identity cards?

Warm regards

Taha




On Sat, Dec 27, 2008 at 7:29 PM, taraprakash <taraprakash at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Taha. No matter how much I want to keep my identity to myself, the
> government has ways to know it. I don't want to pay tax to the government
> as
> I know that it is not properly used. But can I help it? That luxury is
> available to some but not to all. Think about the species close to extinct,
> those that have been identified have a slim chance of being made protected
> by law, if they have not been identified, even that chance is not there.A
> poor  person can be tossed from here to there (like Muslims in the name of
> being Bangla Deshis) but if you have identity between an individual sign to
> the entire structure, it becomes difficult. No matter what communal mindset
> of Javed says, my, not a Muslim, heart goes to Kasab, he is nobody's
> responsibility, he belongs nowhere. An India might face the same fate in
> future. As long as my identity is available in some electronic databases
> available to (say judiciary or such other agency that can be considered
> more
> or less fair) one can say that I am x's responsibility. Again, no matter
> how
> much I want to, my identity is not sacred or secret now. If I make some
> efforts I can most of the details that matter about Taha Mahmood. So
> sharing
> of your identity cannot be a sufficient reason for opposing such a move.
> Identity is itself a bourgeois concept. I think the prolitariat has a lot
> to
> get from such an identity card.
>
>
>
>
>


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