Guys, remember what made Gandhi famous in India? His protest against the mandatory ID cards for Indians, imposed by the British government. Gandhi and company resisted by burning the ID cards, due to which they were jailed. Under Hitler, Jews were required to carry ID cards and wear a cross of David on their clothes. Failure to do that would lead to them being shot. Democracies worldwide do not require their citizens to possess ID cards (UK, US etc.) simply because this is a characteristic of a police state. Anyway, what happens if you forgot your ID card at home or lost it? Can the cops put you in jail (if not, what's the point of it? They can detain you on suspicion anyway). Do you really need a "license" just to walk on the streets now? One more way in which a corrupt cop can get a bribe?
RE:Remember South Africa?
by juan on Jan 06, 2008 09:54 AM Permalink
forget what the blood y hell gandhi did in sa that is 100 years old , live in present , embrace technology n make the country n life of people safe , u ppl dont get over from past n nor have any intelligence or guts or vision to see future , people like u r worse than illiterates , please leave this country ,we dont want imbecile people . First n foremost govt should become ruthless n kill imbeciles for improvement of this country , this country got 90% people totally unintelligent n imbeciles , even animals got better IQ than citizens of this country
RE:Remember South Africa?
by Maximus Decimus Meridius on Jan 07, 2008 06:44 AM Permalink
Well, judging from the way you write - your insufficient knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and semantics, you would fall in the 90% bracket of the people who conveniently label imbecilic and unintelligent. I'd suggest you go to school and get an education before the gestapo that you seek to establish comes and exterminates you. You are in for some hard labour, but you just might make it - after all, fear of death can make people do virtually anythin.
That ad hominem attack apart, lemme tackle your main point - just because it happened 100 yrs ago doesnt change anything. The british imposed it for the same reasons that GoI wants it imposed - to track the coolies and their "anti-national" activities. In the process, it became a tool of harassment and humiliation of the population at the hands of law enforcement. It's the height of hypocrisy if, now that we are independent, choose to impose the same set of laws that we thought cruel and inhumane when we were at the receiving end. The reasons the british imposed it are the same as ours... the only thing that has changed is the people who constituted the government... Perhaps you are right, this country is indeed full of imbeciles with selective amnesia.
RE:Remember South Africa?
by anand biswas on Jan 06, 2008 10:06 AM Permalink
Some people like to quote history and simultaneously think in actions taken at that time. Its better for the country and its people to realize that the times are changing and we need to do this in order to combat terrorists who are roaming freely amongst us. India being one of the places on the terrorists strike list, this measure needs to be taken. But this should also not involve any harassing and delay in providing the ID proofs. Also tampering of these cards should be made virtually impossible, otherwise they wouldn't serve any purpose.
RE:Remember South Africa?
by Rajib Chakraborty on Jan 06, 2008 11:39 AM Permalink
Sir, How will one ensure that terrorists do not possess valid ID cards??? With such a huge population in Delhi having no ID cards and so much corruption all around, terrorists are surely to get the most valid ID cards..
