Convergence or Conflict?: Digital Identities vs. Citizenship Rights: Case Study of Unique Identification Number, Aadhaar, in India

Use of biometric information to access communication devices or information has become the new standard against identity theft and cybersecurity. Integration of financial data with biometric information is enthusiastically offered as an innovative solution in improving public service delivery and individual identity protection. Among the numerous initiatives undertaken by public and private agencies across the world, the Aadhaar, a unique identification number initiative in India, stands out. It seeks to link demographic, biometric, financial and real-time behavioral information to a 12-digit number unique to every individual in a 1.3 billion population country by the Government of India, thus, creating an end-to-end digital identity for each citizen. This integrated database benefits verification, and curbs corruption in policy service delivery. However, government ownership and control of such extensive digital information about citizens has also raised concerns about potential internal and external data breaches, and whether such level of information with the government is even essential or constitutional, opening up a technical, legal, and constitutional debate. This case study highlights the trajectory and development of the Aadhaar initiative, the security and state-citizenship rights conflicts, and the recent Supreme Court of India judgment upholding a citizens' rights of privacy and protection. The implications of this technological and judicial debate could as a precursor to policymakers and practitioners for the potential threats and conflicts that can emerge when digitization, data integration, and biometric authentication are perceived as a panacea for every governance problem.