| ID | 159868 |
| Title Proper | Eye for an I |
| Other Title Information | recording biometrics and reconsidering identity in postcolonial India |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Nair, Vijayanka |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In 2009, the Government of India embarked on a mission to issue each of India’s over one billion residents a unique biometric identification number, Aadhaar (literally, ‘foundation’). An Aadhaar database would link the demographic and biometric information (iris scans, fingerprints, facial photograph) of residents to a 12-digit number. India currently commands the world’s largest biometric database. While Aadhaar does not guarantee citizenship, benefits, or services, its architects submit that its reliable, real-time identity verification infrastructure potentially allows for the targeted delivery of any good to its intended recipient. Aadhaar is fashioned as an ID concerned with a pristine bodily uniqueness untarnished by the social, political, or economic. Aadhaar frequently provokes the questions: Who is the recipient of Aadhaar and to what community does Aadhaar afford membership? Based on ethnographic fieldwork in India’s capital, New Delhi, this article examines how Aadhaar comes to inform ideas of identity and belonging held by its implementers, as well as the population it targets. |
| `In' analytical Note | Contemporary South Asia Vol. 26, No.2; Jun 2018: p.143-156 |
| Journal Source | Contemporary South Asia Vol: 26 No 2 |
| Key Words | Citizenship ; India ; Biometric Identification ; Criminality ; Aadhaar |