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

Saturday, April 23, 2016

9859 - ‘Aadhaar a danger to sovereignty’ - Asian Age

‘Aadhaar a danger to sovereignty’
Apr 08, 2016 - Anil Bhat

Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL) held a press conference on “Are Aadhaar like biometric identification projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan legitimate?” at Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, New Delhi, recently, to focus on the various aspects of mass biometric identification projects in South Asian countries.

The conference included statements by P.D.T. Achary, former secretary-general, Lok Sabha, Dr Usha Ramanathan, noted jurist, Dr M. Vijayanunni, former registrar general and census commissioner and former chief secretary of government of Kerela, Dr Gopal Krishna of Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties and Col. Mathew Thomas, a retired defence scientist, who petitioned before the Supreme Court of India against Aadhaar.
The order of Chief Justice of India, headed by a 5-judge bench in the Aadhaar matter, awaits compliance.

Dr Krishna pointed out that transnational companies like Ernst & Young, L1 Identities Solution, Safran and Accenture are involved in the Government of India’s project of Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI) begun in 2009, following Pakistan, for biometric identification of Indian residents.
“Ironically, these companies have been collating personal sensitive information for seven years, which the government is paying for. The government’s ambitious Digital India project seeks to link mobile SIM cards with the unique identity number (UID) or Aadhaar.

The development comes close on the heels of the Cabinet approving the blueprint for the Digital India project,” Dr Krishna said.

The Aadhaar (targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016, will provide for the “efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India, to individuals residing in India through assigning of unique identity numbers to such individuals,” said the notification dated March 26, 2016. The act has been notified in the gazette after it received the President’s assent.

However, further revelations based on statements and reports of the eminent persons named are indeed disturbing, to say the least.

Referring to Aadhaar Act, Mr Achary said that it “comes under the category of financial bills under Article 117” and not under the category of Money Bill. “Article 110(3) confirms finality on the Speaker’s decision on the question of whether a bill is a Money Bill. But this constitutional provision cannot be seen as a convenient tool to deal with an inconvenient second chamber,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court will have to examine whether the Lok Sabha has the competence and power to expose people to grave risks, while clarifying that under the Constitution of India, the Speakers’ power is not absolute and can be challenged in a court of law.

Dr Vijayanunni said, “China, which is comparable to India in terms of size and diversity of population, abandoned its universal ID system midway in the face of insurmountable problems encountered during its implementation, despite the supposed advantage of their totalitarian system in pushing through such a humongous but ill-advised project. The real pressure for continuance of the scheme will be from the police and secret surveillance systems to pry into the privacy of everyone, which gives them unlimited powers over the lives of helpless individuals and enjoy unchallenged supremacy in the days to come. That will sound the death-knell of freedom and democracy.”


Dr Ramanathan said, “Biometrics, unlike passwords or pin numbers, can not be replaced. What is a person supposed to do if their biometrics get compromised?”