Fiction
Mr Varma was about to
rest in peace when something arrested his death. A police officer stood beside his deathbed
demanding his aadhar card.
“You can’t die without
the aadhar,” insisted the officer. “How
dare you disobey the rules of the country when we have such an efficient government?”
“I’m sorry,” Mr Varma
wheezed.
“Not having the aadhar is
a crime. You are under arrest.”
The constables moved Mr
Varma into the police vehicle which was designed like an ambulance. The vehicle was a new addition to the police
force under the Prime Minister’s Kaanoon Kaaryaanvayan Yojna.
Even before the PMKKY vehicle
reached the destination Mr Varma breathed his last. He was a good citizen, however. The residents of his Society will vouch for
that if you care to ask them. Like all
good citizens, Mr Varma wanted to obey the government. But he had no choice here. So he just wheezed
and died.
“The bugger died,” a
constable reported to the officer.
“How dare he?” The officer fumed. “How dare he disobey such a powerful and
efficient government as ours which has designed clear rules for
everything? Put him under custody.”
The constables looked at
each other. They dared not utter a
word. In the new dispensation nobody
questioned the higher authorities. You
just obeyed. That’s efficiency. This is a country with a difference.
Mr Varma’s body was
shoved into a custody cell.
The constables who were
sent to bring the relatives of Mr Varma came back with the information that he
had no relatives except a daughter who was now in America with her
husband. She had arranged her father’s
cremation with an event manager.
“Then bring the event
manager. Let him produce the aadhar for
his client.”
“The event manager
terminated the contract as soon as he got to know that the client did not have
the aadhar,” reported the constable.
The officer’s eyes
widened. “Such a patriot! Who is that man? Bring him here. I will recommend him for Bharat Ratna.”
The event manager touched
the feet of the constable and begged, “Leave me alone, sirs. I have a family to look after.”
The constables did not
understand the connection between the event manager’s family and Bharat
Ratna. They were only trained to run,
shoot, beat up and – unofficially – accept bribes. Since the official duties of running,
shooting or beating up were not applicable here, they demanded what was
left. The event manager took out his
purse and the constables grabbed it. “Okay,”
they said giving the empty wallet back.
“File the FIR,” ordered
the officer when the constables returned.
“Crime: death without aadhar.”
One of the constables
came rushing to say that the corpse had started growing in size. The officer frowned. But on the insistence of the constable, Officer
went to the cell. Mr Varma was no more a
mere corpse. He was a growing
corpse. In a country with a difference.
As was done in 1984, Aadhar has the power to" unperson" a person.
ReplyDeleteHasn't it already become an Orwellian country?
DeleteVery good satire Sir. Yes, this Aadhar issue is made to cross all sane limits. The system of checks and balances appears to have completely vanished rendering the government an unrestricted power to do anything according to its whims and fancies.
ReplyDeleteGlad you came here. I know that you are busy and when you come you go through all my posts. Thank you.
Delete