At 2 pm on a sweltering Thursday afternoon at the District Administration Office in Jaleshwor, Mahottari, there were about 50 people crowded outside a kiosk labelled 'National Identity Card Details Collection Centre'. Rakesh Kumar, 22, who was in line, said that he had been at the office since 8 am that morning – he needed a National ID card to acquire an e-Passport to go to Malaysia as a migrant labourer.
"I came a few days ago to get the card made. Apparently, my citizenship certificate did not contain adequate information about my family, so I had to get a new citizenship (document), and now I will get the National ID so that I can travel," Rakesh said.
Rakesh is one of over 7 million Nepalis whose biometric data has been collected by the government for the National ID campaign. The programme aims to give every Nepali citizen a biometric ID, much like India's Aadhaar. According to various government documents, this will be used as proof of national identity, as a social security card, voter ID, as a basis for receiving all kinds of public services, and as a helpful record for security management.
The Nepali state envisions the National ID as a central and interoperable system of biometric identification through which governance will occur, making it essential for life in the country, but according to Nepali law, only those in possession of a citizenship certificate are eligible to apply for this document. A significant proportion of the Nepali population is not in possession of a citizenship document, at least in part due to a decades-long history of citizenship provisions being hostile to women and ethnic minorities. Many Nepalis' "non-citizen" status is likely to be set in biometric stone, which may have negative consequences for decades to come.