The Naga Students’ Federation has expressed its apprehension that the imposition of the Aadhaar card or UID number in Nagaland would be a threat to the Naga customary law and identity. In Shillong, nearly 300 people have joined a campaign to give up their Aadhaar cards, alleging that the 12-digit identification number could lead to non-indigenous people getting voting rights.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma also said on Wednesday that he is yet to enrol himself for Aadhaar as he shared people’s concerns over the right to privacy. “I have not registered for Aadhaar number. I share the same concern with my people. (Our) right to privacy is important in a democracy else the whole idea of democracy is diluted,” Mr. Sangma said.
The NSF, the apex students’ body in Nagaland, in a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang on Tuesday, said, “Special provisions granted to Nagaland under Article 371A of the Constitution exempt the State from the applicability of the Acts of Parliament in respect of the religious or social practices of the Nagas and their customary law and procedure.”
Special prerogative
It urged the State government to bar the applicability of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 in the state, pending the final Indo-Naga solution. The NSF stated that the Nagaland Assembly had a special prerogative to decide whether an Act of Parliament should be made applicable to the State.
The imposition of the Aadhaar card or UID number would be a big threat to the Naga customary law and identity, the NSF said in the memorandum. It also said a free enjoyment of social benefits, within the fabric of a collective social identity, was sacred to the Nagas. “Any denial in the name of identity numerisation is inimical to the social and religious practices of the Nagas,” the memorandum said.
In Meghalaya, the Aadhaar enrolment process has faced stiff resistance in the State ever since registrations began in June this year, with the influential Khasi Students’ Union and churches opposing it on grounds of privacy infringement besides the issue of voting rights for non-natives.
Altogether, 286 people have submitted letters to the Meghalaya People Committee on Aadhaar on the third day of a campaign against Aadhaar enrolment, requesting deletion of their numbers from the Unique Identification Authority of India’s database.
‘Different situation’
“We are in a situation which is different from other States. Illegal immigration and influx is a common concern of the people of Meghalaya and Assam and the entire Northeast,” said the Meghalaya Chief Minister, adding, “I and my (Assam) counterpart (Sarbananda) Sonowalji have discussed and written to the Government of India.”
The two Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Assam had earlier shot off a letter to the Centre seeking exemption from Aadhaar.
“What we are saying is not to make it compulsory and binding for Meghalaya (and Assam),” said Mr. Sangma. In Meghalaya, the registration for Aadhaar number has crossed over 14% of the population, ahead of Assam (as per UIDAI statistics), following the resumption of Aadhaar registration in June this year.
