Abstract
Purpose – This paper explores the significance of identity documents (IDs) (paper-based and digital data) in
state-citizen interactions from the point of view of rural and marginalized women in India, specifically in the
southern state of Karnataka. Citizens obtain, hold on to, carry and produce IDs asreceipts of their presence in the
state’s population registries and proofs of their citizenship. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of
how women in rural areas – marginalized along the lines of gender, class, caste and rural-urban gap – manage
and navigate the state’s documentary requirements to access social welfare.
Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a social constructionist framework comprising guided
tours (Thomson, 2018) with 14 women selected using purposive sampling across 3 villages in Mysuru district,
Karnataka, India. The data were analyzed using the qualitative research software ATLAS.ti.
Findings – The study showsthat women’s engagement with documents and consequently their interaction with
the state is shaped by their caste, class, gender and geographical location. Women found acquiring IDs
exhausting asthey incurimmense financial, logistical and emotional costs. At home, they take up the majority of
the responsibility of maintaining IDs of the family and find it burdensome. Women also expressed feeling
obligated to provide paper-based IDs as well as biometric data to the state. The affective states prompt them to
configure careful and elaborate document classification and storing practices. They also regularly forge formal
and informal networks with each other, the government functionaries and local non-governmental organizations
to help them navigate the state’s documentary requirements.
Originality/value – This paper focuses on rural and marginalized women’s practices around IDs, a population
that is often not centered within the literature around information practices, personal information management
and personal record-keeping. Furthermore, the paper makes a theoretical contribution by drawing upon the
concept of emotion as “contact zones” (Ahmed, 2014) and developing it for Information Science. Specifically,
the paper frames identity documents as “contact zones” wherein women encounter and negotiate with the state.
By emphasizing the complexity and imperfectness that characterizes women’s engagement with IDs, the paper
challenges the Indian state’s rhetoric of “seamless,” “paperless” and “contactless” welfare delivery