The card showed a picture of the monkey god, complete
with iris scan and fingerprints
Authorities in India are
investigating how Hanuman, the monkey god, has been issued a biometric identity
card.
The card photo features the character from the Hindu epic Ramayana wearing
gold and pearl jewellery and a crown.
It emerged when a postman attempted to deliver the card, but could not find a
Hanuman at the address.
When he looked at the photograph he realised it was probably a prank. It is
not clear who the iris scan and fingerprints on the card belong to.
The card lists Hanuman as "Pawan-ji's" son (the god was known as son of Pawan
in Hindu mythology) and lists a mobile phone number and an address in the
western state of Rajasthan.
Hanuman is generally depicted with a human body, a red monkey's face and a
tail. There are temples dedicated to Hanuman all over the country.
Postman Heeralal Saini, who was given the card for delivery, returned it to
the post office after he failed to find "Pawan-ji's son Hanuman" and the phone
number listed on the card did not connect, an official in Rajasthan's postal
department told BBC Hindi.
The card will now be returned to the Bangalore office of Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), he said.
Who is Hanuman?
The monkey god Hanuman is a popular Hindu
deity
Part human-part monkey, Hanuman is a central character in the Hindu epic
Ramayana. He is generally depicted as a man with the face of a monkey and a long
tail.
Often described as the "son of Pawan", the Hindu god for wind, Hanuman is
known for his extraordinary daring feats, strength and loyalty.
The Ramayana describes him as an ideal devotee of Lord Ram. According to the
epic, Hanuman and his vaanar sena - an army of monkeys - help Ram in his battle
against Ravana, the Sri Lankan demon king who kidnaps his wife Sita.
According to legend, Hanuman could enlarge his body at will, fly across the
ocean, carry a mountain on his palm and burn down large parts of Lanka with his
tail on fire.
Hanuman's followers believe that worshipping him will liberate them from fear
and danger.
The local centre and the operator who issued the card will be identified and
punished, deputy director general of UIDAI Ashok Dalwai said.
"This is a deliberate mischief on the part of the operator. He will be
removed permanently and the enrolment agency will be penalised.
"The process of identifying the operator and the agency is on. It will not
take time for us to identify. But I must also point out that such instances are
few given the vast number of cards we process," he added.
India launched the huge national identity scheme
aimed at cutting fraud and improving access to state benefits in 2010.
The scheme aims to issue an ID card with a 12-digit unique number to all of
India's 1.2 billion citizens with details of their biometrics - including an
iris scan, fingerprints and photographs.
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