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, September 12, 2018

13869 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 24th August 2018



Times of India
Services that most commonly use Aadhaar authentication include issue of mobile SIM (new or replacement), banks, public distribution system and ...






The Wire
An advertisement titled 'Aadhaar – the most trusted ID in India' was uploaded to the UIDAI's official YouTube channel in May 2018. The advertisement ...





Times of India
“Since these utility services are already linked to Aadhaar, the administration will find it easy to trace beneficiaries and ensure relief measures reach ...






E-Pao.net
Tml/Noney, August 23 2018: Alleging that many students are still not covered by the Aadhaar enrolment which is currently undergoing at Tamenglong ...






The Wire
In a tribal village in Madhya Pradesh, where there are no doctors and central and state governments are as invisible as the people are to them, ...






Live Law
While a robust data protection regime is expected to significantly alleviate the concerns on Aadhaar, the current state attitude towards the scheme is ...




Times of India
“While we acknowledge that face recognition is an added layer of security when Aadhaar is used to link mobile services, our concerns remain around ...






Outlook India
How militancy has shaped the Kashmiri mindset is also evident from the high percentage of Aadhaar enrolment despite rising anti-India sentiments in ...






Brookings Institution (blog)
The Digital Locker eliminates physical paper and fake documents by issuing documents digitally, while the eSign service allows all Aadhaar holders to ...






Times of India
Aadhaar being mandatory for registration has removed fake and multiple registrations," said UPSEB additional secretary (administration) Shiv Lal.






Times of India
Board officials attributed the drastic fall in numbers to the crackdown on the 'cheating mafia' and Aadhaar being mandatory for registration. This year ...






Mumbai Mirror
Aadhaar: At a conference for journalists held in Jaipur earlier this month, US ... Insofar as its application to Aadhaar is concerned, while the report ...






AglaSem News
Candidates will need to refer to their class 10 mark sheet, class 12 mark sheet (if available), aadhaar card. They will need these documents as the ...






Goodreturns
Do not in any case share details like OTP, passwords, PAN card number, Aadhaar number or date of birth with unknown callers that claim to be calling ...






MediaNama.com
Financial distribution network has begun deploying Aadhaar enabled ATMs on its retail network of eGram Kendra. This move follows the company's ...






Brave New Coin
China is working on a digital RMB and India has already siphoned all cash out of its economy and rolled out the Aadhaar card, a digital payment and ...






The Hans India
All three are residents of Delhi and have been preparing documents like birth certificates, Aadhaar card, ration card, etc., on commission basis, the ...






Times of India
Vivek claimed his company had verified all documents — address proof, PAN card, Aadhaar, employee ID and salary statements. “Relying on the ...






Biometric Update
Achieving Aadhaar hardware certification in India is a significant milestone for NEXT, enabling us to participate in Government ID markets where ...






Times of India (blog)
... is that it is difficult to understand how details of a retail pump employee's caste, religion, Aadhaar and bank account can help in enhancing skills.






Livemint
As large-scale data breaches around Aadhaar and banking systems continue to dominate the headlines, we are nearly there with a legislation that will ...