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 7, 2018

13464 - AAdhaar articles Dated 6th May 2018


NewsClick
While most of the reports focused on the positive adjectives he used regarding Aadhaar, the real substance of any comment should have been on the Aadhaar ... What Bill Gates did not comment on – possibly because he lacks the information – is that the issue with Aadhaar is not the biometrics.






NewsClick
After recent reports have pointed out the security flaws in Aadhaar's enrolment software, the Free Software Movement of India (FSMI) has written a letter to the CEO of UIDAI demanding to know what steps have been taken to plug these security holes. The Enrollment Client Management Platform (ECMP) ...






LatestLY
New Delhi, May 5: Despite the recent Supreme Court ruling which stayed the government order making Aadhaar linkage mandatory to avail all services, ticket vendor of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches has denied to sell seats to the cricket fans if they do not furnish their biometric identity number.






NewsPatrolling (press release) (blog)
Aadhaar card is a 12 digit unique identification code issued by the Indian Government (UIDAI) to its citizens. These 12 digits encode (or comprise) the demographic and biometric details of the holder. Currently, it is mandatory to link your Aadhar card number for filing your Income Tax Returns or while ...






The Indian Express
Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) R S Sharma underlines the need for a data protection legislation, insists “encrypted” Aadhaar cannot be hacked, says monitoring apps is not within TRAI's domain, and blames inadequate investment and overloaded networks for increase in ...






The Navhind Times
The government has announced that Aadhaar card is no longer mandatory for getting a new SIM. As per the new reports, you can produce any other form of verification like driving license, passport and voter ID, to get a new SIM. The centre has informed telecoms to follow these guidelines immediately.






The News Minute
The MP also accused the BJP government of taking Congress policies and implementing them poorly, citing Aadhaar and GST as key examples. “Every single thing that can be called an achievement had been initiated by the UPA and was opposed by the BJP. When they came to power they took over ...





The Hindu
Mr. Paswan lauded the State government for its work on seeding Aadhaar with ration cards. The minister said by achieving 88% seeding, the government had eliminated 50 lakh bogus ration cards, and only genuine beneficiaries were getting rations. “In Maharashtra, all ration shops are equipped with ...


Centre is committed to help sugar industry: Minister - RuralMarketing (press release) (blog)



The Hindu
Mr. Ram Mohan Rao said that showing of Aadhaar Card for receiving of cheque was not mandatory but any ID card, including Aadhaar card, was a must. Bankers were requested to open dedicated counters to enable farmers to encash cheques. Appealing to farmers use the money issued under the ...




The Hindu
“E-governance actually means providing services to the citizens in an electronic, transparent and more efficient manner. So, it can be PAN (permanent account number), Aadhaar or even NPS (national pension scheme). Government started talking about digital economy in 2014. We have been talking ...







The Indian Express
In this edition of the Idea Exchange by the Indian Express, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) R S Sharma underlines the need for a data protection legislation while also asserting that “data ownership” can help tackle privacy issues. Among other issues that were discussed, ...






The Hindu
The same Constitution Bench is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme. Another critical issue on which judgment is pending is whether parliamentary committee reports can be used as evidence in courts. This has been reserved for over six months. Though there is no deadline for ...






The Hindu
The students could get the amount after writing the examination by submitting the prescribed application form along with the copies of hall ticket, ration card, Aadhaar card, savings bank account book and travel tickets at the Directorate of School Education, he said. He appealed to the students to inform ...




The Hindu
Aadhaar for IPL tickets stumps cricket fans. At a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions about Aadhaar and its continuation and ramifications, the ticket vendor of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches has made it mandatory. The Hindu explains: What is happening in Armenia?






Times of India
DEHRADUN: Former Congress state chief Kishore Upadhyay along with his supporters and senior party leaders walked up to Dalanwala police station to express their annoyance over the “police role in a case related to 2009.” After producing his Aadhaar card and other required documents in the ...






domain-B
Login to IRCTC with existing IRCTC user ID and password;; Click the "IRCTC eWallet Registration" link under IRCTC eWallet Section in the "Plan my travel" page;; Complete verification process by providing PAN OR Aadhaar and other details;; Deposit one-time registration fee of Rs50 (excluding service ...




The New Indian Express
Parents of newborn girls will get the Rs 5,000 incentive in three phases—Rs 1,000 for post-natal care, Rs 2,000 after the infant gets an Aadhaar, and Rs 2,000 after basic immunisation is completed. The government also hiked by 50 per cent the amount it gives to girls from classes I to XII for buying ...








Hindustan Times
Aadhaar card and the data security debate that goes with it plays a pivotal part in the film as well. Vishal sees the lives who are demarcated by a number, when the man behind the cyber crimes sees nothing but numbers. Their cat-and-mouse game forms the crux of the film directed by PS Mithran. Vishal ...






The Sangai Express
... Member Secretary MOBEDS Kh Dineshchandra Singh during the office hours. The students should bring their aadhaar card and personal bank account details on or before May 18, 2018, said the statement. Scholarship: MOBEDS notifies minority students added by thesangaiexpress on May 6, 2018






Star of Mysore
... their Smart Card for future necessities. The farmers can visit the HOPCOMS and register themselves by submitting the necessary documents, which include original pahani copy (2017-18), Aadhaar card, two recent passport size photographs, mobile and landline telephone numbers, among others.






India Legal (satire)
A recent report in Firstpost said that laws concerning the future of the nation's governance such as the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Amendment Act, 2018, the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and ...






Kaplan Herald
According to Raj Bhawan sources, several training colleges have furnished fake names of teachers to the universities as well as regulatory bodies like the National Council for Teacher Education. Quite recently following an investigation based on Aadhaar number, the Raj Bhawan found that the teacher ...