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

Monday, May 2, 2016

9893 - Balancing power - Debate needed on Speaker's role and accountability- Business Standard


Business Standard Editorial Comment  |  New Delhi 

April 26, 2016 Last Updated at 21:40 IST

In the Westminster system of government, the Speaker of the legislature has considerable power and independence. This is a cherished product of a long process to secure the legislature's independence and fairness. However, as recent events in this country show, this important independence depends crucially on the occupants of the office staying carefully within their traditionally highly circumscribed role. The considerable discretion they enjoy comes with the assumption that it will be used sparingly or wisely.

However, there are at least two recent instances in which Speakers of the legislature have used this discretion to take debatable decisions. The first instance is from the state of Uttarakhand, which was thrown into crisis when the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly refused to allow a division - the counting of legislators' votes - on the state budget. The Congress-led government of the state had reportedly lost the confidence of several members of the legislative party; it was possible that the Appropriations Bill would have been defeated had votes been counted, and the government would thus have had to resign since it was a money Bill. By refusing to grant a division, the Uttarakhand Speaker in effect declared the budget passed and insulated the government from a key test of democratic legitimacy. The second instance is at the Centre, where the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has permitted a proposed law, the Aadhaar Bill, to be introduced in the House as a money Bill. Whether regulatory legislation such as Aadhaar meets the definition of a money Bill - traditionally reserved for proposals that alter taxation, borrowing, or affect the Consolidated Fund of India - is doubtful. But, just as it is a Speaker's traditional right and duty to determine when a division is needed, her decision on whether a bill is a money Bill has also traditionally been considered to be the last word. It is worth noting that the two major national parties are on opposite sides of the fence in terms of the debate at the state and the Centre - in Uttarakhand, the Congress is defending the rights of the Speaker, while in Delhi it is questioning them - indicating that this is possibly a problem of institutional weakness that transcends political parties.

Unfortunately, India now faces a situation where the decisions of the traditionally independent Speaker of the House are being discussed by another branch of government, namely the judiciary. The Supreme Court has stayed an Uttarakhand High Court judgment that rescinded President's Rule imposed on the state after the Speaker's controversial ruling. Meanwhile, it has asked the Union attorney general for his views on a petition filed by a Congress leader questioning the introduction of the Aadhaar Bill as a money Bill. So the judiciary and the executive will now discuss a decision that has traditionally been the sole prerogative of the Speaker of the legislature. The elements of a full-blown constitutional crisis are visible. What is needed is to get ahead of the problem. Perhaps the tradition of the Speaker being notionally completely independent of the other branches needs to be revisited. Rather than letting things deteriorate and forcing the judiciary to get involved, the legislature itself should consider what checks and balances can be imposed on the Speaker's discretion in order to ensure such situations are not repeated.