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, May 18, 2016

10002 - ISRO, DRDO, Aadhaar show public sector capable of path-breaking innovations & solutions; even better than private sector - Financial Express

Isro has been at the forefront of technological innovation, having developed software in a much cheaper and cost-effective manner.

By: The Financial Express | Updated: May 17, 2016 1:01 PM

Launched the Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013, for instance, at a cost of million, one-tenth of what the US space agency NASA spent to develop its Mars Mission. (Representative image. PTI)

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is all set to breach another barrier as it gets ready to launch its first space shuttle this month. While India would become the fifth nation after US, Russia, France and Japan to have built a space shuttle, if successful, the technology will allow for an even more cost-effective mechanism for launching satellites. The RLV-TD (Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Development) developed by Isro in five years, at a cost of just R95 crore, is expected to navigate its way back into Bay of Bengal. Though it will take another 10-15 years to develop the technology for commercial use, according to Isro scientists, once perfected, it would bring the cost down by as much as 10 times, to $2,000 per kg. The Indian space agency is also expected to conduct landing and further return-flight experiments. Research on space shuttles has been in process for a long time now, but one of the major obstacles for scientists has been the ability to maintain the temperature inside the shuttle once it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. The friction leads to temperatures rising to 5,000-7,000 degree Celsius. But the shuttle would incorporate very lightweight, heat-resistant silica tiles and carbon coating to counteract the heat.

Isro has been at the forefront of technological innovation, having developed software in a much cheaper and cost-effective manner. It launched the Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013, for instance, at a cost of $78 million, one-tenth of what the US space agency NASA spent to develop its Mars Mission. Isro recently also completed the launch of its navigation satellites to aid the development of navigation system, IRNSS. The IRNSS, once fully operational, would make India the fifth country with an indigenously-developed navigation system. More than its own achievements, the Indian space agency’s success also demonstrates the ability of government-run enterprises to showcase their effectiveness, if left to manage on their own. DRDO is another example of India’s technological prowess—the defence research organisation has been able to successfully test many missiles, and recently tested a supersonic interceptor missile capable of destroying enemy projectiles. 

The work done by Aadhaar, the National Payments Corporation of India, the National Stock Exchange or the National Securities Depository Limited—or even the National Dairy Organisation in Karnal, which was the first to create an IVF buffalo and clone a buffalo—similarly, has been accepted as world-class examples of frugal innovation. Though government-run organisations are typically seen as slothful and slow in implementing and adopting technology, when freed from bureaucratic control, many have has shown themselves to be not only as capable as the private sector, but even better in providing path-breaking innovation and solutions.