In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

9016 - The Intolerance Debate: Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi must listen to RBI Guv Raghuram Rajan - Financial Express


The intolerance towards reforms is the real reason that will impact growth. While the Congress-led opposition parties must shun this in Parliament, PM Narendra Modi needs to tackle the apprehensions on the communal statements forcefully now.


By: Santosh Tiwari | New Delhi | November 2, 2015 9:51 AM



There is an apprehension, not exactly fear, that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government wins the Bihar assembly election and keeps on strengthening its political lead over the opposition parties, it will only embolden the intolerance in the Bharatiya Janata Party ranks, especially those with strong communal views, which will hurt growth prospects in the country.

It is also being projected that these elements, who are also trouble-spots for PM Modi even now and at times it appears that he has been reluctant to shut them up, will overpower him at some point of time.

If that happens, it will certainly be a big setback for those who believe that the ‘growth and progress’ promise of the BJP will be fulfilled by this government.

But, the problem is, if the BJP hardliners push their ‘intolerance’ to extreme to keep themselves politically relevant, those projecting this as a threat to the growth prospects are also doing the same thing.

Growth and investment pick up are dependent on the policies and reforms — goods and services tax (GST), liberal land acquisition norms, labour law reforms, higher public investment, savings on subsidies through Aadhaar-based cash transfers, easier clearance mechanism for projects, and tax  reforms to end tax terror fear — and not so much on the statements of political leaders which are mostly directed to win votes.

Rating agencies like Moody’s and all those who are cautioning the NDA government on this issue must see the whole debate in this backdrop.

The hindrances and opposition to the reforms and business friendly policies — both from within the government and the opposition parties in Parliament — are bigger issues that can derail the chances of improvement in growth, and a deviation in attention from this aspect of the ‘intolerance’ debate is not what is going to benefit the economy.

So, if the ‘intolerance’ has to be tackled effectively, it has to be done in the way RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has prescribed by saying that India’s tradition of debate and an open spirit of enquiry is critical for economic progress.

He is making a simple point which should be applicable in all kinds of intolerance —  undue and unwarranted opposition to reform bills in Parliament, the intentions of the PM Modi government to keep the regulators and the whole government machinery on a tight leash, and of course, high-pitched statements of the political leaders.

By continuing with most of the UPA government schemes, including Aadhaar and MGNREGA, PM Modi has shown that he favours growth over scoring political points, and he will do well by extending this to his overall functioning.

Similarly, if the Congress party and other opposition parties are not understanding even now that electoral battle can’t be won with the help of just dole and jibe politics — they are treading a wrong course. It is the intolerance to reforms that is the real bane.

First Published on November 01, 2015 10:56 am
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