Support UID: Good developments

First things first -- before I go into other details:

Now more than ever, we  must continue to speak up in support of UID. Here are a few things you could try.

• On twitter: Follow @supportuid  
• On facebook (like us): www.facebook.com/SupportUID
• Dial this number (courtesy ZipDial): 080 300 500 91
• After one ring you will be auto-disconnected and will receive a thank you SMS - unless you've already called from that number before or you can't receive an SMS.
• Tweet your support: Tweet #supportuid
• Retweet! (our tweets from @supportuid)
• Post about these links on your facebook page, email friends and in general, spread the good word.
• A web site with a lot of well researched articles and news links is coming soon.. I will update this page as soon as it is ready. So come back here in a day or two.

Now for the brass tacks...

There has been a lot of activity on the UID front these last two weeks. Quite (pleasantly) surprisingly for me and my fellow supporters, a lot of people have begun speaking up. So the tide has clearly begun the turn - though this story isn't over yet. Not by a far shot.

On the flip side, in most places enrollments have come to a standstill (or slowed down) -- due to two major reasons

• UIDAI laying down stringent verification requirements of proof documents (this is my interpretation; official verbage is a bit different)
• UIDAI laying down enrollment quotas for most registrars to ensure that the overall enrollments won't overshoot their targets (when was the last time "overshooting targets" happened in a government project?)

Owing to the lack of official pronouncements, most people in the governments are still groping for direction and are on the verge of giving up hope / declaring their support to the anticipated-winner.

Let us see what we can take-away from this mixed bag environment.

So the good parts are...

1. Focus has shifted to the core issues (instead of turfs and personalities). This is definitely good.
2. A committee has been formed to converge the efforts of NPR and UID projects. Better than good! :)
3. UIDAI has (finally!) given out some long-awaited information on their biometric success/failure rates and some more data to help their own cause.

What could go wrong?

1. In the name of face-saving, we might end up with illogical compromises. e.g., let NPR re-enroll everybody in a "more secure" (ouch!) way.
2. There hasn't been much noise from the civic society opponents (or wasn't I listening?). That may not be a good sign. We need a healthy dialog (not superficial rhetoric and exhortations driven by fear, of course) on important issues for a vibrant democracy. I am hoping we will return to talk about the core issues. Personally I would've preferred to have a convincing closure on the issues instead of "silencing the critics".

We can we do?

1. Not celebrate too early. If you haven't already done it, please do at least one of the things I've posted at the beginning of this post.
2. You have questions or doubts? Don't let them be... ask questions, clarify matters, take a stand (even if is against UID). Informed consent is what we want in a democracy. Not mindless mob-movements.
3. Encourage others to participate... Yes... As a responsible person, you have already taken a few minutes of your valuable time to read my post. Spend one more minute by spreading the word.

THANK YOU. :)