News in Brief

No ID, No Dignity

The Fase Pardhi community in Yavatmal, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, is a nomadic tribe with no proper identity or identification certificate from the government. They are demanding Aadhaar – the unique identifier for every resident in India– and ration cards, to establish their identity so that they can access welfare schemes from the central and state governments.

The lack of official recognition from the state also means that most of them don’t have voting rights and are denied access to healthcare and basic amenities like drinking water and proper housing.

The plight of the Fase Pardhi community is far from being an isolated case. According to the World Bank Group’s ID4D Global Dataset, an estimated one billion people around the globe face challenges in proving who they are. They struggle to access basic services and may miss out on important economic opportunities, such as formal employment or owning a registered business.