AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12745 - Telecoms hold customers to ransom for Aadhaar info -Deccan Chronicle

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, January 14, 2018

12745 - Telecoms hold customers to ransom for Aadhaar info -Deccan Chronicle

Telecoms hold customers to ransom for Aadhaar info

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | COREENA SUARES

Published

Jan 13, 2018, 1:24 am IST

Hyderabad: Airtel customers alleged that the telecom major is blocking SIM cards randomly and is asking for Aadhaar details to activate the same. Other telecom players like Vodafone and Idea are facing similar allegations from customers.

Customers voiced concern on social media, and said that the service provider was blocking SIMs which were not linked to Aadhaar. In many cases, Airtel asked for the Aadhaar number to replace even faulty SIM cards.

The Delhi-based Bharti Airtel national communication team denied deactivation of SIMs due to Aadhaar linkage. They, however, blamed it on technical snags.

Ms. Sangeeth Arvind Kumar, whose SIM was deactivated, said, “My SIM was blocked and when I visited the help desk at Patny Circle, I found seven more customers with the same grievance. I submitted my Aadhaar details and it was unlocked on the same day.”

Mr. Akshay Goud from Bansilalpet also went through a similar ordeal. He said, “My SIM abruptly stopped working. The helpline staff said that it needed my Aadhaar number to activate it.” Mr Anant Desai, a banker from Ameerpet, added, “Even SIM replacement and a new SIM, Airtel is insisting on Aadhaar.” Many took to social media, tagging Airtel officials.

In a statement to Deccan Chronicle, the communication team of Bharti Airtel, said, “While we have also come across such tweets, there is no such thing and there is no truth in these allegations. We do not block any SIM and neither do we force customers to link their Aadhaar. It is really disappointing to see some people using social media to malign brands. It only adds to the confusion among other customers.”

Asutosh J. G, Bengaluru
This happened with me 2 weeks ago. They said they would issue a replacement SIM for faulty one after four days since I don’t have a Aadhaar card (sic). Only after several calls and mails, they reinstated the connection.

C A Rajani Damani, Guwahati, Assam
I have also experience this, the help center didn’t replace my sim on basis of other ID proof such a passport /pan card, they demanded Aadhaar (sic).

Edwin Rajan, Chennai
Yes true, My friend’s Airtel sim got disconnected when asked airtel connect showroom they are asking to link Aadhaar and buy a new sim (sic).

Ibrahim S, Bengaluru
My Sim was blocked for 3 months before. Went to Airtel store to get it replaced. Upon replacement I refused them my aadhaar details and was told activation is instant for aadhaar and not for other proofs (sic).

Bilal Motorwala, Mumbai
They tried to do the same thing with me, when I asked for government notification and any court order making it mandatory, the staff baffled and back tracked (sic).

Note: To all the complaints that tagged Airtel’s official handle, there has been a standard response stating, “We have not blocked any SIM due to this, kindly note, Aadhaar-based authentication is a faster SIM replacement process compared to normal paper document based process, hence we recommend Aadhaar-based SIM replacement.

Tags: airtel, aadhaar details

Location: India, Telangana, Hyderabad