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Living with 'thin' documents: a note on identity documents and liminal citizenship in the chars of Assam, India.

Living with 'thin' documents: a note on identity documents and liminal citizenship in the chars of Assam, India.

Authors :
Das, Sampurna
Source :
Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies; Nov2024, Vol. 50 Issue 19, p4891-4904, 14p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

This paper, based on my doctoral ethnographic research amongst the Miya community in one of the chars of Western Assam, shows how a particular category of identity documents shape their subjectivities, experiences, and aspirations. I focus on the identity documents which have errors, like mistakes in names, dates of birth or addresses, and badly angled photos. I refer to them as thin documents. Because of the thin documents, the Miyas find it difficult to assert formal citizenship rights, which they could normally assert based on accurate documentation. For the thin documents to help prove the Miyas' citizenship, they must be further supported by an additional set of documents. The process questions the Miya's formal citizenship rights. I present narratives of the Miya people living with thin documents to illustrate how the materiality of the identity document binds the Miya people to a state of liminal citizenship. I ask: what do these errors in the identity document or thin documents tell us about citizenship, particularly liminal citizenship with reference to the Miya community of Assam? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1369183X
Volume :
50
Issue :
19
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
180522730
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2024.2376413