Amid the outcry from the Muslim community, suspecting a sinister move rapped under the fresh survey taken up off late by the GHMC under the Dharani program, the question arise out whether to what extent it is difficult for the government to access the confidential data of the citizens when it is already available with the agencies and institutions run by the government itself?
People especially the Muslim community provide all the certificates and confidential details without a second thought to avail of welfare schemes launched by the government like the Shadi Mubarak scheme, aasra pensions, and double bedroom houses while the students too were asked to furnish all the relevant certificates – only after through verification of their residence, income, and caste by the staff of concerned MROs, to avail scholarships.
shikwa beja bhi kare koi to lazim hae shoor
“All the certificates being furnished by the people especially the students to avail the benefits of government programs and schemes were ultimately stored in the database of the agencies supervised by the government itself. Now, where is the question arising of government facing any difficulty in acquiring the data of the citizens,” ask Syed Shoukat Ali, city based social activist.
Not long ago an incident was reported from Hyderabad wherein UIDAI authorities summoned a person from Old city asking him to produce before the relevant documents to prove the claim that he is a legitimate resident of the country.
It was in the year 2018 when the whole country was grappling with the outrage against the introduction of CAA and NRC, the incident drags the attention of the whole country towards Hyderabad when an inquiry officer of UIDAI, running a bio-metrics based identity card system, has asked one Mohd Sattar Khan of old city to appear before her along with original documents to prove his claim of holding Indian nationality.
It was later reported that the official was initiated the inquiry only after receiving a complaint that the man in question is in possession of a fake Aadhaar card no his name. Soon, the incident stokes a controversy besides stirring an argument with intriguing questions like on what premise the UIDAI official has initiated the inquiry and who are the people raising such complaints.
“Raising objection over the Dharani survey program being conducted by GHMC in the city limits and elsewhere in the state is completely uncalled for. There is nothing to be panic or apprehensive about the survey. In fact, the survey totally supports the people’s cause in various ways irrespective of religion,” said Mushtaq Malik, President Tahreek Muslim Shabban (TMS).
Today, he said, every service or facility being provided by the government or private sector comes with proper verification of the applicant or beneficiary that includes power connection, water connection, scholarships, fee reimbursement scheme, Shadi Mubarak, double bedroom and pension schemes, etc.
“Moreover, there are scores of litigation and disputes pertaining to claims over property rights and declaration of legal heirs are pending in different local courts. This survey may provide a better picture of the demography of the city in the future that may help the citizens to claim their rights in a more pragmatic way with the support of data officially available with the government agencies. As such, linking the Dharani survey with the CAA, NPR and NRC are completely illogical,” he asserted.
“Almost every scheme introduced by the government for the welfare of minorities especially the Muslims made it mandatory for the applicants to furnish documents such as adhaar card, food security card, income certificate, residential and caste certificate, etc to prove their eligibility and get benefit with. Apprehension over the Dharani survey holds no weight as every community covers in the survey identically and all the queries mentioned in the form are based on logical ends. There is nothing objectionable and afraid of,” said Prof.Ameeruddin.
Moreover, he said, no bank will allow people to open accounts until and unless they provide KYC details such as PAN card and Adhaar Card of the applicant and the nominee besides details of other bank accounts if any they have on their names. In such a scenario raising objection over the survey is completely unjust and holds no merit.
“It is for the Government to dispel the misunderstanding among the public regarding the survey. The government should come out clear and assure the people that the data being collected is in no way linked to exercise NPR, NRC, and CAA,” said Moulana Syed Tariq Quadri, President All India Majlis Inquilab-e-Millat (AIMIM).
