Using an extensive case analysis of the Bhoomi system of India, this paper examines the role and nature of the state with regards to the rationale for and deployment of e-government systems. Issues such as the nature of control in governance, the discourse of de-politicization in justifying e-government and the reinvention of the state via electronic means are examined. Analysis of data collected over several years shows that e-government systems are primarily used to centralize control in the hands of the upper echelons of the bureaucracy, a strong discourse of technology and 'high modernism' permeates the justification for deploying e-government and this effectively de-politicizes the intent and purpose of the project. The paper concludes that through e-government the state reinvents itself, as the e-State, as a powerful, centralized force that disrupts historical practices and relations.
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