This last week, I've been talking to friends, colleagues and others - trying to understand what they think about the Aadhaar (UID) Project. Here is what I found.
1. No two people think of UID the same way.
All have heard some good things and some bad. No one has the time or patience to go into detail. So they are ready to form a summary impression based on how reliable they think the sources are.
2. Most people are apprehensive about UID.
Distrust of the government in general, as well as the widespread negative publicity seems to have played a role here.
3. Nearly all of them are willing to revise their opinion.
Even those who are emphatic in denouncing the UID are willing to reconsider when I tell them that I support the UID Project. But now they are a bit unsure of whom to believe... apparently reliable anti-UID spokespersons, or apparently reliable yours-truly?
This gives me hope. Here is why.
Where there is dark, throwing light usually gives good results. Once we recognize that even educated folks haven't quite understood all aspects of the project, we have an actionable. Educate. Explain. Clarify. As people understand, the hitherto irrational fear of the unknown gives way to well-founded objections. Not surprisingly, such objections can only result in progress.
Credibility is apparently a key problem. While all opponents sound credible; the only defense seems to come from largely untrusted government folks. Here again is an actionable. Bring credible supporters to the fore.
Most of the arguments have lacked real depth. Accusers have apparently gone largely unchallenged on critical assumptions. Fortunately, in-depth analyses and debates can address this. Here again is an actionable that is not insurmountable. The only challenge is to keep the debates grounded on reason - not rhetoric.
I have been working long-enough in the eGovernance area to know how difficult it is to conceptualize and execute a good project. I've been outspoken enough (including in these blogs) for people to know that my views are unaffected by official positions and extraneous considerations. I am unwilling to give up on a golden opportunity to do something good for the country, in the form of the UID Project.
A few friends and I have decided to come together and work on these action items. Spread more awareness. Put our reputations at stake. Engage in real debates.
Come talk to us. Engage in a dialog with us (by commenting here and by email, to begin with). If we can address your concerns, just express your support. It won't cost you anything. But just by participating, you can make a huge difference for our country - even if you don't agree with us.
1. No two people think of UID the same way.
All have heard some good things and some bad. No one has the time or patience to go into detail. So they are ready to form a summary impression based on how reliable they think the sources are.
2. Most people are apprehensive about UID.
Distrust of the government in general, as well as the widespread negative publicity seems to have played a role here.
3. Nearly all of them are willing to revise their opinion.
Even those who are emphatic in denouncing the UID are willing to reconsider when I tell them that I support the UID Project. But now they are a bit unsure of whom to believe... apparently reliable anti-UID spokespersons, or apparently reliable yours-truly?
This gives me hope. Here is why.
Where there is dark, throwing light usually gives good results. Once we recognize that even educated folks haven't quite understood all aspects of the project, we have an actionable. Educate. Explain. Clarify. As people understand, the hitherto irrational fear of the unknown gives way to well-founded objections. Not surprisingly, such objections can only result in progress.
Credibility is apparently a key problem. While all opponents sound credible; the only defense seems to come from largely untrusted government folks. Here again is an actionable. Bring credible supporters to the fore.
Most of the arguments have lacked real depth. Accusers have apparently gone largely unchallenged on critical assumptions. Fortunately, in-depth analyses and debates can address this. Here again is an actionable that is not insurmountable. The only challenge is to keep the debates grounded on reason - not rhetoric.
I have been working long-enough in the eGovernance area to know how difficult it is to conceptualize and execute a good project. I've been outspoken enough (including in these blogs) for people to know that my views are unaffected by official positions and extraneous considerations. I am unwilling to give up on a golden opportunity to do something good for the country, in the form of the UID Project.
A few friends and I have decided to come together and work on these action items. Spread more awareness. Put our reputations at stake. Engage in real debates.
Come talk to us. Engage in a dialog with us (by commenting here and by email, to begin with). If we can address your concerns, just express your support. It won't cost you anything. But just by participating, you can make a huge difference for our country - even if you don't agree with us.
UID is a e-Governance Self Help & Employee Guarantee (ESHEG)Scheme, no wonder the loudest wails (apart from confused comments) emanate from those in the field.
ReplyDeleteNo disrespect to them, but most of them are I.T. Professionals of varying competence, with limited understanding of Governance & law. The risks of maintaining large citizen databases are very real. From the nazi period till post-Godhra, there are enough examples of such information being misused, for us all to ask for a review.
Sadly well meaning views as those in this blog will be the exception. In most cases what we will see a concerted media blitz which will try to side step the issues. In any case, to expect those in e-Governance field to stand for something other than their career advancement is foolhardy. If they understand UID Scheme any better, there is a good chance that they will be less gung ho about it.
http://thefishpond.in/jtd/2011/lets-make-uid-a-failure/
ReplyDeleteBuilding such a tremendous database is going to be a huge task and as is happening, such an effort will undergo controversies/debates. No surprise there :). But I believe this is also a large step for our democracy to take and effort must go on to accomplish this. For a democracy of such a size to be successful, there has to be some common database to bank upon, to ensure some sanity, some basis to connect, channelize things - in general, to manage the county efficiently.
ReplyDeleteThere may be two real concerns with such a system though (these are the ones i have commonly heard of):
- Possibility of data misuse for personal or political gains.
- some people believe this will give too much power in govt's hands.. sort of what they show in Matrix :)
Now, my take on these two concerns is:
1. there is always a possibility of data misuse - whether it is banking data of American credit card companies in the hands of Indian BPOs or census data in the hands of common people. We just needs to work towards mitigating such deficiencies/breaches in the system.
2. Given that there are still many people in US who dont have SSN and/or are staying illegally in US, we will be lucky if we are able to do even 80% implementation in next 5 years :).
My take on this..The idea and principle behind UID is excellent. The architecture and technology they have adopted is awesome..
ReplyDeleteHowever the implementation strategy is not up to the mark. Instead of camping for a temporary period the system should be permanently installed in Gram-Panchyat level. One individual should have trained in the Panchyat level, to manage the db incrementally.
Its like SSN in US. Has to wait and see how it works in INDIA. The negatives and positives of UID depends on the importance given to it initially...
ReplyDeleteManually entering data and filling a form,,, will not be the best way to maintain the database... again as its assigned based on biometric identification, it will only assures of non duplication....
I am a supporter of aadhaar and i have posted(blog) several times on it. If you have time please see my blogger profile to read them sir. Well i congratulate you and your team at thinkuid for doing good service. Please count on me on your network of aadhaar supporters. I also urge you to post more frequently on thinkuid.org which has not seen any posts since a long time.
ReplyDelete@Mukesh: Thank you for your kind words.
DeleteAt the time we began thinkuid.org, the need to counter biased and uninformed negative opinions on Aadhaar was still being felt. However, since then, massive enrolments have ensured that Aadhaar (and its data repository) is now a national asset. So the real question now has changed to "how best to use it and protect it".
This is the reason why we slowed down on thinkuid. However, I will share your feedback with my friends on thinkuid.