In February 2018, people began lining up around midnight at the Aadhaar enrolment centre in Delhi's Pragati Maidan. The Indian Express reported that the centre could accept only about 100 people a day; one applicant found roughly 150 people already ahead. Demand included new enrolments and corrections as deadlines approached for linking Aadhaar to bank accounts and mobile numbers.
What distinguishes this queue is that preparation for a digital identity system became a physical contest for a daily quota beginning around midnight. At the entrance to an online administrative world, the centre's capacity and a person's place in line determined who would be processed that day.