AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 149 - Rural Karnataka is test bed for UID by Kiran

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, May 26, 2010

149 - Rural Karnataka is test bed for UID by Kiran

Rural Karnataka is test bed for UID
Kiran, Bloomberg UTV
Published on Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 20:50 IST

TUMKUR: The first users of the unique identification project (UID) will not be from the metros but from small districts of Karnataka where it is being currently tested.

Located 70 kilometres from Bangalore, Chellur village and its people have little knowledge that their names will be among the first for the much-awaited unique identification project. Chellur is one of the two villages in Karnataka selected for the pilot project to test the reliability of the biometric data and the technologies. Dry runs have begun and people are queuing up to give their proof of identity.

Gnanesh, the tahsildar of the entire district, says despite the initial slow response, villagers are now increasingly enthusiastic to share their details.

"In Chellur, we have planned UIDs for 2,000-2,500 people. We have also started work in other villages like Bukkapatna of Shra Taluk in Tumkur district. So, overall, we are looking at 10,000 to 12,000 people in the pilot run itself," Gnanesh adds.

In addition to technological challenges, Gnanesh has to ensure the local panchayat bodies co-operate with the field trials. Along with basic details from the ration card, UID officials are also taking finger prints along with photographs of the iris to ensure non-duplication of identity.

While this might just be the first of the two dry runs that are being undertaken to check the proof of contents, people are enthusiastic and are queuing up to give their finger imprints and other details. With the second dry run likely to happen after two months, it might take some time for the people to get their unique identification numbers.

In addition to Tumkur, Mysore will also get its UID numbers as part of the pilot project in Karnataka. M N Vidyashakar, Head of the UID project in Karnataka, says the issuing of UID numbers is expected to start by August 2010 in these districts.

Along with Tumkur, Mysore also will be complete by Dec 2010. The entire state of Karnataka would be put on board starting January and will be completed by December 2011. That is the roadmap we have for Karnataka, M N Vidyashankar added.

Not just Karnataka but the same pilot will be replicated in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Local authorities say many villagers are not aware of the true benefits of the UID number, and Nandan Nilekani's team needs to do more to increase awareness especially in the villages.

UIDAI gets new name, logo

NEW DELHI: The ambitious unique identification project of the central government was today named 'Aadhar' and a new logo unveiled...

Nandan Nilekani, chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said Aadhar would lay the foundation for effectively delivering services, especially to the poor.

The project would start from February next year, Nilekani said, and added that it will now be known by the new name.

"We wanted a name that could effectively communicate its transformational potential and its promise to residents. Something that had a national appeal, that could be recognised across the country, could resonate in different languages and easy to remember and speak," he told reporters, adding the acronym UID was confusing.