Explaining Aadhaar to my 5 year old Grand niece Asha
By Ram Krishnaswamy
Asha: Mamathatha, You are always working on your Computer. Can you tell me what you do ?
Me: Behni, I am posting articles on my Blog
Asha: What is a Blog Mamathatha ?
Me: Mmmm… Let me think… You now how you can watch Cartoons on You Tube. Some one created that on Youtube so you and other kids can watch it on your iPads when ever you feel like. The same way people all over the world who are interested can read what ever I post on my Blog.
Asha: Can I please look at your Blog ? Please…
Me: why not (I show her the Aadhaar Blog) http://aadhaar-articles.blogspot.com.au/.
She grabs the mouse and scrolls up and down the screen looking at the Aadhaar Blog
Asha: Wow It is sooo big. Can you tell me about the Blog please.
Me: I think it is too complicated even for adults so you may not understand anything.
Asha: Mamathatha, Please tell me about it like a story you tells us before bed time
Me: Ok let me try. I started this Blog in 2010 before you were born and have been doing it for seven years now. I have posted 11,500 articles published by news papers on Aadhaar and so far about 883,000 people have visited my blog to read the articles
Asha: Mamathatha: Look at this pointing to her iPad: Moana got 219 462 937 views
Me: Yes kids love Moana more than grown ups read my Blog
Asha: What is Aadhaar ?
Me: Aadhaar is a number given to all Indians residents by the Government
Asha: what is resident ?
Me: Some one who resides there or lives there. Like I reside in this home
Asha: What is my Aadhaar Number Mamathatha ?
Me: No you don’t have one because you are in Australia and were born in Sydney even though your parents were born in India
Asha: why do people in India need this number Mamathatha?
Me: There are too many poor people in India and the Govt has given people a number to everyone so they can show the number to get cheaper rice and wheat and kerosene supplied by the Govt for the poor people
Asha: How many poor people are there in India ?
Me: About 400 Million People.
Asha: How many is that ?
Me: let us say Australia has 25 million people altogether. India has 8 times more poor people in India and about 25 times more people altogether.
Asha: I don’t understand big numbers.. You mean Very very Big
Me: Yes. Say in the whole world we have 7 Billion people and India alone we have 1 billion people. For example for every seven people in the world we have one person living in India. And China has more people than India.
Asha: Mamathatha, remember you told me Bailey (our Labrador) has a secret number in his ear, so when he gets lost finders or Police can read the number and bring him back home.
Me: Behni, you are such a clever cookie, I am sooo proud of you. Yes Bailey has a Microchip in his ear. Yes every one in India now has to get a number but there is no microchip in the ear. Every one has to remember the number and they also get a card board card with the number on it like the medicare card that you give your doctors when you visit them.
Asha: That is very good mamathatha. Australia should also do that.
Me: Yes and No
Asha: what do you mean yes and No?
Me: Yes it is good as it helps the Govt to help the needy poor people. No because the Govt can misuse the number against the people.
Asha: what is a Government ?
Me: Remember elections when we went to the school building and voted for people we liked to join the Govt ?
Asha: Yes
Me: The Government is made up of chosen people from each part of the country who received the most votes. So in India we have 545 people in the Govt and they are supposed to do what is right for the people of India, not just those who voted for them.
Asha: Mamathatha do you like Aadhaar ?
Me: No
Asha: Why ?
Me: The Government is made up of good and bad selfish people, some smart and some not so smart. You have 545 members in Lok Sabha, and 245 members in Rajya sabha almost 800 people who make all the rules for the whole country and the Government of India has almost 18 million public servants meaning people who work for the Govt applying all the rules on the people.
Asha: why so many people ?
Me: they do all the work for the Government and there is a lot of work
Asha: why don’t you like Aadhaar Mamathatha?
Me: Go to bed it is getting late.
Asha: Please tell me
Me: Ok, how can I explain this to a little girl like you…..Ok what do we do before we go to bed ?
Asha: we check and make sure all doors are locked so that we are all safe in our home and then say prayers
Me: Excellent. Remember that every one lives in their homes or apartments and all have doors with keys to open and shut the doors. Each key is unique and our house key cannot open any other house door. We need this unique key for our doors so we are secure in our homes and have total privacy so no one can see or interfere with our private lives.
Asha: Yes we have curtains too. I know that is why you have two dead locks on the front door plus a steel security door so no thief can break into the house at any time.
Me: Yes absolutely. We feel safe and secure at home and don’t worry about baddies. Now imagine if every one has to give a copy of our house keys to the Govt for safe keeping so they can help us out in an emergency. Do you think we should all give our house keys to the Govt ?
Asha: No way ? We do not know who is in the Government and what they will do with our keys. There could be baddies in the Govt who can use the key and come into our house when we are asleep..
Me: Exactly. That is why I don’t like Aadhaar as Aadhaar is like a key to every person’s heart and all personal information and we do not want some baddies in the Govt to use Aadhaar to look into our private lives. Now time to go to Bed Good Night
