KOCHI: Kerala’s move to roll out a photo-based nativity card — pitched as a simpler, singular identity proof for accessing state services — has invited sharp criticism from migration researchers, who warn the proposal risks normalising exclusion and involves discreetly compiling a citizens registry in the name of administrative convenience.
The state government cleared the proposal late last month, proposing a permanent card to replace the existing nativity certificate. As per the plan, the card, to be issued by tahsildars, will serve as a beneficiary ID for welfare schemes. And, future versions may include chips and holograms, with the revenue department tasked with drafting the required legislation.
But migrant rights voices say the move carries implications far beyond paperwork — especially in a state where migrant labour is now central to construction, manufacturing, and services.
Dr Madhusudan Nag, senior researcher at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) Bhopal, said the nativity card proposal and the branding of migrants as “guest workers” clash with the spirit of a Constitution that ensures equal rights across the country.
“By terming migrants guest workers, the government is violating these guarantees,” Nag said. He cautioned that Kerala’s proposal could set a template for other states. “Tamil Nadu may be next in issuing such cards,” he said.
Among the direst warnings came from Benoy Peter, co-founder and executive director of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), who said issuing nativity cards could end up creating a de facto registry of citizens. “When the cards are issued, a citizens registry is the outcome. This is what the Assam government is doing,” Benoy said, arguing that the logic of nativity is often used to single out “genuine citizens” from “illegal immigrants”.
He questioned the need for issuing the cards across the board, saying most people require nativity documents only for specific purposes. “In all fairness, we don’t need nativity cards now. There’s no compulsion whatsoever. An overwhelming majority of people do not need to produce nativity cards,” he said.
Terming nativity a politically sensitive category, he pointed to Kerala’s demographic shift and growing dependence on migrant workers. “Anything that’s related to nativity is extremely sensitive… In a large number of industrial units in Kerala, the majority of workers are migrants,” he said.
Development practitioner and researcher Sangeeth Sugathan also criticised the move, calling it a drift towards regionalism that could legitimise discrimination. “As a Malayali, I strongly feel that the state government’s decision to issue nativity cards is a troubling move towards regionalism,” he said in a social media post. “We need equal treatment for all citizens, not systems that label some as ‘guests’ and create grounds for discrimination.”
The government, however, has defended both the terminology and the intent behind the proposal.
Dr Ravi Raman, member of the Kerala State Planning Board, rejected suggestions of any hidden agenda, saying the aim was to make already available information easier to access through a single document. “We don’t have any discreet purpose for issuing nativity cards. Our plan is to provide a card that will have all the information of a Malayali,” he said. “The purpose is to compile a person’s existing details, making the information readily accessible.”