Either the Government has nothing better to do or it is drowning in delusion. The latest salvo from its arsenal of incomprehensible ideas is that come October, if you don’t have an Aadhaar number, you will not be issued a death certificate. Not that you will care, you will be dead. But you will make sure your near ones do not hold you dear too long, what with the merry dance you’d have led them to perform in order to get a piece of paper saying you’re gone goodbye even though they know that for a fact, having borne witness to all the grieving and gruelling details.
But no, our government knows better and wiser; and on this the Supreme Court appears to march alongside. Of course, they’ve been kind enough to provide an out: produce a certificate proving that to the best of your knowledge, you (the next of kin or whoever) believe the dear one did not possess an Aadhaar number... Something to that effect. And the media have been generous in publicising this so-called ‘clarification’. What authenticates this certificate is another matter altogether, and the unspoken message is that it is highly preferable you have the Aadhaar number ready and available when the time comes, never mind that it’s meant to be confidential.
Clearly, the powers that be are leaving no stones unturned. First they made sure the elderly slowly but surely got less and less interest on whatever deposits they had made, big or small. Of course, the really elderly and infirm have pretty much nothing by way of insurance: too old, too sick, too helpless. And now, they’ve given them a good reason not to let go that last, final time: because oh-my-god-I-don’t-have-an-aadhaar-number!
So, all you belligerent, obdurate, ailing, flailing, bedridden elderly (and who knows who else): Get your Aadhaar number today. Else, never die.
Sandhya Rao Editorial Consultant