Rail ID rule is anti-poor
The Indian Railways’ decision making it mandatory for all passengers with reserved accommodation on trains to carry valid identity cards is doubtless well-intentioned, as it should help eliminate middlemen and touts who make a killing by blocking train tickets and selling them at a premium. But this regulation, to be effective from December 1, is invidious and, on the face of it, anti-poor.
To ask rail passengers to carry ID cards in a nation in which less than 10 per cent of people possess any such documentation is effectively to discriminate against all those, including the large numbers of migrant labour, who might need to travel at short notice. The problem of fake bookings lies in a nexus between babus who staff the reservation system and touts. The railways should tackle that problem rather than trouble passengers or allow them to be fleeced by checking staff, which is what will almost certainly happen when this regulation comes into force.
At a time when even the issuing of Aadhar cards is at an incipient stage, enforcement of the ID card rule will be another bugbear. Ideally, every Indian, including the poorest, should have a valid ID so that all government benefits can flow to the right recipients rather than see them leak into the wrong hands. To arm each of 1.2 billion Indians with an identity card is, however, a Herculean task that may take many years. Official India needs to recognise the problems that exist before it tries to implement unenforceable rules.
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