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

Sunday, August 28, 2016

10320 - GST: Modi's speech gives impression that PM was driving force behind bill's passage - First Post



Sanjay Singh  Aug 8, 2016 21:23 IST

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi finished his forty-minute long intervention in Lok Sabha on GST Bill on Monday, he left a distinct impression that it was he who was the driving force in his government in conceptualising amendments, building a broad consensus and finally getting it passed from both houses of Parliament.

The passion and clarity with which he spoke on single biggest tax reform bill indicated that the generalist prime minister is no novice in economics, at least as far as the basics of the statecraft and policy making were concerned.

His contention was simple: if India had one Railways, one postal system, one kind of civil and criminal laws, one kind of his pet projects – Digital India, StartUp India, Stand-Up India, then why not One India One Goods and Services Tax system.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking in Lok Sabha on GST Bill on Monday. PTI

In contrast to his predecessor – an economist, Manmohan Singh, who did not leave any lasting impression on the statecraft and policies of the UPA-led government in 19 years – Modi was keen to leave a lasting legacy as someone who eventually pushed for this biggest transformative tax reform since India's Independence.

In the past, at least on two occasions, he made his keenness to understand economics known and also contributed in drafting of the state policy.

First was the decision to continue with Aadhar and link it with a whole lot of taxation, subsidy and welfare schemes so that the amount intended to a designated person on the last mile reached him directly without an interference of intermediaries, official or unofficial.

He subsequently pushed to give a legal cover to Adhar. The bill had its own share of controversies; whether it should be categorised as Money Bill to make the role of Rajya Sabha, where the Congress in a majority, virtually irrelevant. For the record, the decision whether or not a bill can be categorised as Money Bill or not rests solely with the Lok Sabha.

Second was the presentation of Annual Budget of 2016. No prime minister ever, even if Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had briefly held finance minister's post and had the chance to present Budget put their personal credibility on stake.

But Modi chose to make it different for him. A day ahead of presentation of 2016-17 Budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, he said in his Mann Ki Baat: "Friends, your exams are starting. I too have an exam tomorrow. The country's 125 crore people are going to take my examination," the Prime Minister said pointing out that Budget was going to be presented the next day.

But you must have seen how healthy I am feeling, how full of confidence I am. Let my exam take place tomorrow."Though he had talked of it in the context of Class X and XII board examination, but the message was loud and clear. He had personally put in a lot effort in the budget. The popular verdict next day, of experts, industry and common people was positive for him and his government.

His intervention on GST Bill in Lok Sabha was third such occasion when he let it known to the  people at large that he likes to go in details on macro-economic issues. Since the ruling NDA in Lok Sabha has a brute majority, the Lower House would, in any case, have adopted and passed the 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill with required numbers.

Modi's intervention was curious. By doing that, he sent out two messages – that he takes parliamentary practices seriously and letting his own thought process on GST known, how he cherished its passage and implementation.

He chose to go out in details, which were somewhat different from the facts and merits of the bill presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Modi's emphasis on how building a consensus has helped, "arithmetic in Rajya Sabha" and putting rashtraniti (national interest) above rajniti (politics) and the benefits it would reap for the state and to the concept of cooperative federalism.

"This decision is not based on majority numbers but it was a journey for building consensus". He termed it the victory of democracy.

In this context, he recalled his meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, one from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha. That way he also responded to a point raised by Congress leader Veerapa Moily who has earlier raised the issue that Lok Sabha was treated as "junior house".

Moily's statement otherwise had loaded connotations for government and also for his own party, the Congress.
He had a message for two social constituencies, poor and small traders. Both his assertions, that most items used by the poor were out of GST purview and it would be in benefit of local baniyas or traders to give a pukka bill (proper receipt) than a kuccha bill (rough estimate on plain paper) will be tested in due course.

But in last three days, Modi had made his mark – on Saturday and Sunday by expressing his outrage against self-styled gau rakshaks and on Monday on GST, which he called Great Steps towards Transformation and Transparency.