India, New Delhi — April 2, 1990Prime Minister's Office
The rain pattered softly against the glass windows of Aryan's office. Outside, Delhi was slick with moisture, the streets glimmering under amber streetlamps. Inside, Aryan was hunched over a conference table scattered with blueprints, flowcharts, and a digital model interface.
Across from him sat Rajeev Taneja, head of Aryan's newly formed National Data Infrastructure Mission, and Dr. Sumita Desai, a former MIT AI researcher who had returned to India just weeks ago.
Aryan looked up.
"I'm not building a card. I'm building the first modern citizen."
Rajeev raised a brow.
"What exactly do you mean, sir?"
Aryan stood, pointing to the centerpiece diagram. A card glowed at its heart: matte silver, smart-chip embedded, sleek and minimal. It carried no caste, no religion, no privilege. Only numbers. Identity. Data.
"We call it — Aadhar Card. It will be India's first true national ID."
"Every citizen will be issued one unique ID — no duplicates, no fraud, no loopholes."
Dr. Sumita tapped on her tablet and mirrored the data flow on the smartboard.
"The card will be linked to a secure, decentralized national database: retina scan, fingerprint, faceprint, and—if approved by Parliament—DNA hash signature."
Aryan nodded.
"Once Aadhar is rolled out, nothing in this country will be possible without it — and everything will be possible because of it."
What Aadhar Will Replace
Aryan clicked through a series of slides:
Driving License
Land Ownership Registry
Electricity and Water Connections
Voter ID
Tax ID
PAN (Permanent Account Number)
Company Incorporation
Passport Linking
Insurance & Bank Account Authentication
Mobile, Internet, Vehicle Registrations
Private & Public School Enrollment
Courtroom Identification and Case Filings
Hospital Admissions
Teacher Credentials (even private)
"No More Ghosts in the System"
"Sir," Rajeev asked carefully, "What about the critics? They'll call it Orwellian."
"Let them," Aryan said firmly. "This is not surveillance. This is a firewall against exploitation."
He turned to the window.
"No child should die because her name wasn't 'on the list'. No farmer should lose land because the file was 'lost'. No woman should wait five months for a ration card because some babu needed a bribe."
"No more ghosts in the system."
April 5, 1990 — Parliament House
Aryan stood in the Lok Sabha. Cameras rolled. The room was tense, expectant.
"Respected Speaker, honorable members of the House... today I present a revolution not of slogans, but of systems."
"This is the Aadhar Identity Bill, 1990."
He laid out the vision: One nation, one identity. One verified system to empower a billion people.
"Aadhar will not be mandatory. But if you want to access government services, own property, run a company, receive a salary, register a school, apply for insurance, vote in elections — Aadhar is your gateway."
"It cannot be duplicated. It cannot be stolen. And it cannot be bought."
"With this, India ends the age of 'missing people'."
April 10, 1990 — National Rollout Begins
The rollout began with a massive pilot in four states: Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh.
Each village was assigned a mobile data unit and biometric station.
By May, over 11 million citizens had already registered. Reports flooded in:
Bank fraud cases dropped 30%
Voter duplication incidents fell to near zero
400+ fake land ownership cases caught and reversed
Thousands of ghost teachers in public schools exposed
International Reaction
The UAE praised the system, calling it "more advanced than Emirates ID."
The World Bank called it "the most ambitious civic identity platform on Earth."
Western media called it "a gamble with enormous upside."
Aryan called it: "The birth certificate of New India."