The government of India is introducing a new family ID in the IndianIllegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) which has caused confusion andirritation among many residents, with rights campaigners fearing that theprogram may lead to increased surveillance and data hacks in the disputedHimalayan region.
The new IIoJK Family ID, an eight-digit code assigned to each household,would improve access to social welfare benefits such as subsidized foodgrains, and automation of eligibility decisions based on data would meanfamilies will not have to apply for benefits under various schemes.However, in IIoJK, some see the new family IDs as a campaign to exertgreater control over residents.
The loss of Kashmir’s autonomous status in 2019, as well as the division ofthe previous state into two federal territories, were intended tostrengthen India’s control on the Muslim-majority area.
Residents of Kashmir, notably Angad Singh Khalsa, an independent humanrights advocate, are justified to be suspicious of the government’sobjectives, given they have already been singled out for increasedmonitoring on the grounds of national security.
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Khalsa expressed that even if the government aims to deliver benefits tolocal individuals by generating these new IDs, the autocratic attitudetowards the people of Jammu and Kashmir has caused the locals to distrusttheir intentions.
