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

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

13775 - ‘Dismantling India’: A grim account of 4 years of Modi government

‘Dismantling India’: A grim account of 4 years of Modi government


(From right to left) Social activist Shabnam Hashmi, former diplomat and senior write Ashok Bajpai, senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, economist Arun Kumar, human rights activists John Dayal and Leena Dabiru at the launch of the repor, ‘Dismantling India’

Titled ‘Dismantling India’ and put together by a team of distinguished experts, the study complains about the failing economy, rising unemployment, atrocities against minorities under the BJP govt

A damning report scrutinizing the performance of the Narendra Modi government in its first four years was released on Saturday.
In last four years of Modi government, there have been 214 reported cases of attack on civil society and freedom of expression, 228 cases of attack on education and reported news around and more than 400 cases of Hate and Targeted Violence against Muslims.
Titled Dismantling India and put together by a team of distinguished experts, the study complains about the failing economy, rising unemployment, atrocities against minorities and Dalits, surge in sectarian violence and the state of law and order among other important issues under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government. The document also gives a detailed account of critical happenings that have taken place in the country since 2014.
This report is 355 pages 29 writers have written 25 articles touching different aspect of Indian Society, from culture, economy to gender issues , media, judiciary, foreign policy defence etc.
Speaking at the launch of the report at Delhi's Constitution Club, economist Arun Kumar said that workers in the informal sector had bored the brunt of current government's economic policies. "The farmers are in distress. There are not sufficient jobs being created, affecting employment numbers. Demonetisation and then the poor roll out of the GST did further damage to the economy," said Kumar.

Speaking on the recent spate of mob lynchings across the country, Harsh Mandar rightly noted, “There is an atmosphere of fear being created in the country. Anybody can get killed by a mob. But the majority community is not affected by it. It is just the minorities”
He noted that the Prime Minister hadn't answered a single question in Parliament on demonetisation. "On top of everything, constitutional institutions are facing an existential assault," he said.
"The society has been polarised and India is being converted into a hate republic," said social activist Harsh Mandar, adding that even children were being brainwashed on religious lines.
Speaking on the recent spate of mob lynchings across the country, Mandar rightly noted, "There is an atmosphere of fear being created in the country. Anybody can get killed by a mob. But the majority community is not affected by it. It is just the minorities."
"My identity has been reduced to just being a Muslim woman," decried erstwhile Planning Commission's member Saeeda Hameed. "I have always seen myself as an Indian first," she said. Hameed said that she had been jolted to the core by the spreading of venomous hate and sectarian violence.
She slammed the government on its foreign policy, saying that the government had failed to protect its age-old alliances with neighbours such as Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka, who were now drifting in China's camp.
"The Prime Minister is directly responsible for India's disastrous foreign policy," she said.
Jurist Usha Ramanathan mentioned the grave irregularities in implementing Aadhaar to convey how the Centre was hell-bent upon securing business interests. The rights, safety and comforts of the common citizen have completely been set aside.
Kavita Krishnan of Communist Party of India (ML) threw light on the anti-woman, anti-democratic aspect of the Modi government. The way the BJP leaders came out in support of the accused in Kathua rape case clearly reveals the government’s stance. “The BJP government is busy in dividing people and spreading hatred,” said Krishnan.
Shabnam Hashmi, who is one of the people to have brought out this report, said the report exposed the false claims of the Modi government. “The report consists of data indicating that the country has been thrown in the pyre of hatred and destruction,” she said.