Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along has once again turned an everyday awkward moment into social media humour. A video shared by Along shows a Naga man struggling to complete an eye scan during KYC verification, with repeated attempts apparently failing to satisfy the biometric system.
Eye scan turns into a funny moment
In the clip, the man appears to have difficulty getting the scanner to recognise his eye. As the attempts continue, people around him try to help by holding his eyelids open so the device can capture a clearer image. Their efforts are met with laughter, making what should have been a routine digital verification process unexpectedly entertaining.
Along summed up the situation with just three words: “Struggle is real.”
The short caption fits the video perfectly. What appears funny on screen also highlights a practical issue with biometric technology: systems designed to work quickly and automatically do not always deliver the same experience for every user.
When KYC verification becomes difficult
KYC, or Know Your Customer, procedures are now widely used across banking, financial services and digital platforms. Biometric checks can make identity verification faster by using features such as facial images, fingerprints or eye-related information.
However, a failed scan can quickly turn a simple process into a frustrating one. Factors such as positioning, lighting, camera quality and the way a biometric system captures a person's features can affect verification.
The video does not establish that the technology was specifically designed to exclude people from Northeast India, nor does one failed attempt prove that biometric systems cannot recognise particular physical features. Still, the unusual scene naturally raises questions about how inclusive and user-friendly such technologies are.
Temjen’s familiar take on the “small eyes” stereotype
Along has previously used humour to address comments about the appearance of people from Northeast India. In 2022, he went viral after joking about the commonly repeated “small eyes” stereotype. He quipped that smaller eyes meant less dirt could enter them and that they could make sleeping during long programmes easier.
The remark drew widespread attention, including from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who shared the clip at the time.
The latest KYC video follows a similar pattern. Instead of turning an uncomfortable subject into a serious confrontation, Along uses humour to make people notice it. Behind the laughter, however, the clip offers a simple reminder: technology may be digital, but the people using it are anything but one-size-fits-all.
