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, January 29, 2018

12803 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 29th January 2018



Economic Times
During the question and answer session that lasted for over 1.5 hours, Pandey took over 20 queries that ranged from privacy concerns around Aadhaar to benefits of the biometric identifier for residents, and from linking of Aadhaar to mobile SIMs (subscriber identity module) to moving the enrolment ...






gulfnews.com
'Aadhaar', a word that sparked long debates and endless conversations in 2017, has been chosen as the first Hindi Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries. Aadhaar as a word means foundation or base and is derived from Sanskrit. In India, Aadhaar also refers to a 12 digit unique-identity number ...

Modi's 'Mitron', Bahubali gets beaten by Aadhaar - Indialivetoday (press release)




Times of India
MUMBAI: Citi India is seeing new opportunities in Aadhaar and digitisation following reforms by the government and regulator, even as Asia is turning out to be integral to the multinational bank's global growth strategy. The lender seeks to grow its market share across its cards and wealth management ...






The Indian Express
Addressing a National Cadet Corps (NCC) rally in New Delhi, PM Narendra Modi on Sunday threw his weight behind the Aadhaar, claiming that it has added great strength to nation's development by restraining leakages and ensuring that government money reaches the needful beneficiaries.






The Tribune
“Thereafter, I applied for it again at a Suvidha Centre in the Deputy Commissioner's office against which I got a receipt also. While all my family members received the same, my Aadhaar card was again rejected. When I asked the officials concerned, they did not give any satisfactory reply,” he added.






Daily Pioneer
Speaking at an National Cadet Corps (NCC) rally, Modi also made a strong pitch for the use of Aadhaar, saying it has added great strength to India's development by curbing leakages and helping Government money reach its target beneficiaries. “These days you keep hearing about Aadhaar. I want to ...



The Hindu
The President also mentions the landmark events of ISRO. 'BHIM App' is playing a major role in promoting digital transactions. The recently launched 'Umang App' has made more than 100 public services available on mobile phones, the President says. 'Aadhaar' has helped in securing the rights of the ...





Hindustan Times
They also claimed that the biometrics – iris scans and finger prints – were not secured as several private firms were engaged by UIDAI, which is responsible for giving out Aadhaar numbers. The government has told the court that a panel set up to put in place a data protection regime would submit its ...






India Today
UIDAI launched the mAadhaar for the Android user back in the month of July last year. The Unique Identification Authority of India is now gearing up to launch the app for the iOS users very soon. The app lets you carry your Aadhaar's demographic information on your smartphone -- it is basically a digital ...






Bangalore Mirror
The soon-to-be introduced facial authentication for Aadhaar for people whose fingerprint and iris scans cannot be captured, has an interesting origin in Karnataka. The 110-year old Siddaganga Mutt seer Shivakumar Swamiji was the first person whose facial picture was used during his Aadhaar ...






The Tribune
The Narendra Modi government has made mockery of "a good idea" like Aadhaar by implementing it "horribly", says Congress leader and former union minister Jairam Ramesh. "Aadhaar is a very good idea implemented horribly. The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) vision of Aadhaar was that it ...






The Hans India
He said the Aadhaar Act had come without Privacy Act. For every other grievance, the citizens would have to approach the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), which would decide whether the allegations were correct or not. “Aadhaar is not considered for religion certificate, nor is it for the ...






The Siasat Daily
Hyderabad: Despite the time extended by Supreme Court to link Aadhaar Card with LPG cooking gas connection till March 31, consumers are facing difficulty in getting cooking gas. The gas companies in various states of the country have stopped refilling the LPG if the consumers have not linked their ...






The Tribune
President Ram Nath Kovind has begun his first address to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament. President Kovind said Aadhaar has helped in securing the rights of the poor by eliminating middlemen. He said that he was hopeful that triple talaq bill would be passed by Parliament so that Muslim ...






News18
President Ram Nath Kovind has pitched for smooth passage of the triple talaq bill in his address to a joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a similar “humble request” to the opposition. President's address to Parliament has officially ...



Deccan Chronicle
Thiruvananthapuram: The centre's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for Tatkaal and Post Police Verification (PPV) passports could relieve many applicants. At present many applications are getting rejected for want of the verification certificate which has to be issued by a certain category of officials ...






Outlook India
President lauds Aadhaar scheme says over Rs 57,000 crore prevented from going into wrong hands. Aadhaar has helped in securing the rights of the poor. Empowerment not appeasement of minorities is our govt's motive. He said that his government has increased the minimum wage of labourers by ...






Nagaland Post
In a press note, Social Welfare Department director, T. Merangtsungba Aier said that DBT mode for payment for honorariums had been initiated since January 1, 2017, wherein workers and helpers are required to submit Aadhaar linked bank account numbers and the IFSC code, otherwise the ...






India Today
In Coimbatore, Aadhaar card isn't the only certificate married couples need to carry around if they want to enter the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Botanical Gardens on Marudhamalia Road. In order to get rid of couples using the public park as a 'recreational' area, the security authorities are ...