The saga of proving humanness never really ends, does it? It begins at birth : a certificate to prove you were born. To whom? The state? The idea of belonging? Then the vaccination card: proof that you’re growing “fine.” Then proof that you can learn : school admissions, Aadhaar, health cards, growth charts. Then progress certificates : proof that you can read, write, add, fit in. Then diagnostic reports : proof that you need support, but not too much of it, and only if certified. Then degrees, resumes, references : proof that your voice alone isn’t enough. Someone else must sign off on your existence. Then the machines took over. Now you need an email ID, a profile, a password : proof of digital humanness. You click on bridges, decode twisted letters, identify traffic lights : proof that you can see, think, and therefore must be human. You receive an OTP: proof that you received the proof. You give more data : proof that you have nothing left to hide. And when you write, when you finally pour out what’s left of your thinking, someone asks: “Did a machine write this?” So you edit in your flaws. Miss a comma on purpose. Add a line break where it shouldn’t be. You make yourself human by being imperfect, on demand. And when you die? A certificate will prove it. A system will close your account. Maybe a memory will remain, if it too can be verified. Proof of lived experience, apparently it never ends. Even if you have a Ph.D. titled "Making Lived Experiences Matter". Apparently, even that needs proof. And somewhere between ticking every red light and clicking every bridge, the machine whispered : “Prove you’re not a robot.” And all that could be said was....“I’ve been trying to do that all my life.”
