How can I be who I am?
“What’s your ID ma’am?” asked the enthusiastic voice at the other end of the phone
“1400289” I said.
“You are 1400289?” He confirmed.
“Yes” I muttered
And at that moment I realized I had become a number. My identity was just a number. This number had all my details, my entire employee history.
So I was a number. I could have been happy. But wait...
I am not just one number I am so many numbers! I’m the PAN card number for my tax accountant; I’m the TV customer ID number for the dish TV executive. I am the girl in 302 for my building watchman. I am a ten digit number for everyone I know.
These numbers are my identity for so many people. They are as important (or more) as my name. Though my name may be used for addressing me by many, these numbers have my details and my records..pages and pages and pages about me… Scary!
Moreover, these numbers are not particularly of my liking. Most of them have been imposed on me. What I liked has been superimposed by these numbers.
I like my name, but it is just a field in the pages of records of the numbers.
I like my different profiles in virtual space, but it is my IP that gets recognized.
Scary… Scary…
On top of it all, the Nilekani lead national ID scheme is another scary thought. I’m not even thinking how many digits that will be!
I wonder…
Can there be a single number to represent me, my identity? Just like a single sign-on in software, can I have a single sign-on to the world? I’m not talking about a number like the American social security number, but something more integrated.
But again I doubt the security of such a number in our corruption ridden nation. Also, the ability of the state to get all my details through one number is absolutely scary.
And what if I lose my identity (like in Bourne identity) or What if it is stolen by someone?
Scary!
