I sing the body biometric: Surveillance and biological citizenship

Abstract

The Aadhaar or Unique Identification Numbers initiative of the Government of India presages a new model of biological citizenship as much as it announces the arrival of India as a technological society, one where social problems such as meagre public distribution systems and primary health services are solved through technical means. Through a series of propositions about the increased use of biometrics for identification purposes, the cultures of surveillance that centre in and around the body are explored.