Vansh pathak

“Who are you?” It sounds like a philosophical question, but for decades, it was also one of India’s biggest administrative challenges. Imagine being asked to prove your identity to receive a government subsidy, open a bank account, buy a SIM card, or even verify your age. Today, most Indians instinctively reach for their Aadhaar card. But rewind the clock by thirty years, and things looked very different. Aadhaar did not emerge overnight. It is the result of decades of administrative reforms, technological advancements, political debates, legal scrutiny, and changing expectations from governance. Its journey is not merely the story of a twelve digit number. It is the story of how India attempted to solve one of its oldest governance problems: establishing a reliable identity for over a billion people. Let us explore how this idea evolved. The India Before Aadhaar To understand Aadhaar, we first need to understand the India that existed before it. For most of independent Ind...

  Origins of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act Why FCRA is One of India’s Most Debated Laws Few legislations enacted after Independence have generated as much public debate as India’s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). To its supporters, the law is an indispensable instrument for safeguarding India’s sovereignty by ensuring that foreign money does not influence political processes, electoral democracy, public servants, the media, or organisations working in sensitive sectors. To its critics, however, the Act represents an extensive regulatory framework that can place significant compliance burdens on civil society organisations and potentially affect the freedom of association guaranteed under the Constitution. These contrasting perspectives explain why discussions surrounding the FCRA often extend beyond legal interpretation into broader questions concerning democracy, national security, civil liberties, philanthropy, and international relations. Eve...