Several Bengali-speaking workers have fled Gurgaon amid a crackdown on, ostensibly, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Police tried to ascertain Bengali-speaking migrants’ citizenship by seeking various documents such as ration cards, electors photo identity cards (EPICs), Aadhaar cards, property deeds and other government-issued identity papers. Many were detained and their details sent for authentication to their hometowns in eastern and northeastern India.
And yet, the irony is that whatever identity documents these workers or any other Indian might procure and furnish — from Aadhaar and passport to the voter I-card, PAN card, ration card and school certificates — none counts as a sure shot proof of citizenship.
Unlike most of its neighbours, India does not issue a national identity card.
And the required proof of citizenship varies from one exercise to another, such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update of 2015-19 in Assam and the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The SIR, which is effectively seeking citizenship proof, is accepting an Indian passport — issued at any time. But only passports (and other government papers) issued before March 25, 1971, counted in the Assam NRC as automatic proof of citizenship.
However, possessing proof of one’s date and place of birth and, in some circumstances, those of one’s parents or legal guardian (for minors) as well, can help establish citizenship. It can also help obtain a range of identity documents necessary for hassle-free survival, such as Aadhaar and a passport.
NRC
An amendment to the Citizenship Act in 2003 mandated a National Register of Citizens, which would provide a national identity proof for all citizens.
But the exercise to update this in Assam — which has had an NRC since 1951,
aimed at expelling undocumented immigrants from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) — has been mired in controversy.
The Registrar General of India has not notified it or given it legal sanctity and the Comptroller and Auditor General found it error-ridden. And Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in June that he would deport all “foreigners” even if they were in the NRC.
So much for even this most rigorous of exercises — which required people without government-issued identity papers from before March 25, 1971, to furnish “legacy” documents of their parents or ancestors — ensuring freedom from harassment for successful applicants.
Union home minister Amit Shah had said in 2019 that an NRC would be created for the entire country. For this, the National Population Register (which will include foreigners living in India as well, as designate them as such) would need to be updated.
That has to be done during a national population census. But the Centre has not yet announced whether it would update the NPR during the upcoming census.
Aadhaar
The identity card that most Indians now have is the Aadhaar.
It records biometric data and is issued to all legal residents of the country, including foreigners, as well as NRIs. It does not entitle the holder to anything but clears the decks for them to register for a range of government and private services, from welfare schemes to bank transactions.
While the Aadhaar is mandatory only for government welfare schemes like subsidised rations, it is practically used for everything from the police verification of tenants to the registration and sale of property, admissions to educational institutions and even signing up for dating apps.
To apply for an Aadhaar card, one needs documentary proof of identity (name), address, and date of birth. Of the 31 prescribed documents, applicants can submit any one for each of the three requirements. The passport alone covers all three requirements.
Other documents — such as the birth certificate, EPIC, income-tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, driving licence, certificates or marksheets from school boards or universities, and other specified government-issued documents — cover one or two requirements.
For those born after October 1, 2023 — the date on which the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023, came into effect — birth certificates issued by authorities empowered by the Act are mandatory, in addition to other documents so that all three requirements are satisfied.
If one doesn’t have the required documents — as with some newborns, for example — they can apply through an introduction from the head of their family (provided the latter have the Aadhaar).
Ration card
Ration cards — which, before the Aadhaar was introduced, were the most widely used proof of identity — were introduced for food rationing in 1945 and are primarily an entitlement to subsidised food grains.
After the Targeted Public Distribution System was launched in 1997, ration cards — issued to households and not individuals — were reduced to merely identity cards for households too well-off to qualify for free or subsidised food. For the poor, they served both purposes — identity and food.
In several parts of India, ration cards have been issued even to recognised refugees — who are legal immigrants — and are therefore no longer exclusive to citizens.
In 2015, amid reports of irregularities, the Centre had notified that “Ration card shall not be used as a document of identity or proof of residence”.
Passport
Among this thicket of identity documents, the passport comes out top as it confirms the name, parents’ names, address, place and date of birth. Unlike the Aadhaar, It involves an in-person police verification of its holder.
To obtain a passport, one needs to establish their address and date of birth with documents.
Twelve documents including the Aadhaar and the EPIC are accepted as address proof, and seven — including the birth certificate, EPIC, PAN card and driving licence — as proof of date of birth. Any one of them is needed for each of the two requirements.
For those born after October 1, 2023, only the birth certificate is accepted as proof of date and place of birth.
SIR
Under the SIR in Bihar, which also seeks citizenship proof, any one of 12 documents is necessary to enumerate oneself as a voter.
These include the birth certificate, passport, recognised education certificates and a portion of the 2003 electoral rolls that has the applicant’s name.
The Aadhaar, ration card, EPIC, PAN and driving licence are not on the list of documents accepted as establishing “date of birth and/ or place of birth” under the SIR. The electoral registration officers have the discretion to accept other documents that they deem fit.
Those born in India before July 1, 1987, have to submit the required proofs only for themselves. Those born between July 1, 1987, and December 12, 2004, need to additionally provide the same proofs for either parent.
Those born after December 2, 2004, must provide these proofs for themselves and both their parents.
No clarifications have been given on the documentation for orphans, abandoned or estranged children who do not have their parents’ documents.