Learning with the Times: Why Aadhaar has no parallel

NEW DELHI: The idea of a single over-arching identity number for all citizens issued by the state is not new, but in most developed countries, passport and driver’s licence remain the most-accepted IDs.
Here is a look at why Aadhaar is really unique.


ID cards started as a tool to track citizens.


France was 1803-04 the first country in the modern world to issue identity cards. Introduced during Napoleon’s time, the card was issued mostly to the working class to control their movement and keep wages down. Workers had to submit their cards (livret ID) to employers and take it back if they wanted a change of job — getting the card back was difficult

1839: Ottoman emperor Sultan Mahmud II was witnessing a decline in influence amid increasing interference of other European countries in his territories. In his bid to enhance the state’s power on citizens, Mahmud’s Tanzimât introduced a national ID card

WW II: In the pre-World War II era UK and Germany made it mandatory for citizens to have ID cards in 1938. Vichy France introduced cards in 1940. Cards issued in Germany and Vichy France were used to identify and target Jews. In UK, the national registry act was repealed after the war

Post WW II: In 1949 Hong Kong and Taiwan introduced the card to check immigration from mainland China. In 1958 China introduced Hukou Registration Regulation, used to provide the underprivileged benefits to underprivileged citizens and was also used to restrict movement inside the country. In 1960s South Korea and Singapore also introduced national identity cards