Ashim Bhuyan
(The writer can be reached at bhuyanashim@yahoo.com)
During our school and college days, long years back, till 1980s, in these parts of the country, as students or even otherwise, normally, one did not have any identity card. Those were the heady days of agitations, student unrest, etc. However, a self-identification, orally, was sufficient to identify oneself. Yes, ration cards did exist, and these had the family members’ details, but that was to get the monthly quota of essentials like food items. “Admit cards”, that contained details of name, father’s name, date of birth, and, of course, Roll No., was issued to appear in board examinations.
However, yours truly was quite fortunate to have an identity card, with a photograph pasted on it, quite early life, when in Class VII, I became a member of YMCA in Shillong. I could never realize its value, except that it signified that I was a member of YMCA, and I could visit the club for a game or two of table tennis.
Years passed, and I landed in Delhi for higher studies, where it was mandatory to have a student’s Identity card. Along came, the DTC’s (Delhi Transport Corporation) monthly passes to move around the city, in buses, at a princely sum of Rs. 15 every month. These were not optional, but compulsions of the ecosystem in Delhi. Of course, it helped to get train tickets back home in Assam, at subsidized rates and without hassles.
Then came the job! The employer’s identity card was issued with a photograph imprinted, but that was hardly of any value, one thought! Then came the PAN card, the passport, Aadhar, driving licence with a chip and many more for one’s Identity proof, address proof etc. You needed these to open a bank account, to check into a hotel, for a mobile connection, and what have you, and even for a voter’s card.
Then came the virus induced lockdown, and a new reality dawned on all of us. My job required me to physically go to office during the lockdown!! My Aadhar did not help, nor did my PAN, nor my Passport - for each of which I had invested loads of time and energy, like anyone else. It’s only my employer’s old identity card that helped me to get past the authorities to reach my office to attend to essential services, and what an irony, and reversal of fortunes - in an identity card.