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, August 4, 2010

385 - UID Could Benefit the Middle Class, Too - Live Mint

UID Could  Benefit the Middle Class, Too
Karen Leigh, Friday, July 30, 2010
Live Mint Article


Upon returning to Delhi after living in comparably efficient Japan in 2003, Anit Mukherjee faced a problem. He needed to purchase a car, but the dealership was asking for a PAN card – which he didn’t have after years abroad.
“There were three or four forms I had to submit, and all the paraphernalia,” said Mukherjee, now an associate professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
“Even though I have a good job, I’m basically a migrant here in Delhi, so I have to prove my address. I live in a rented place so it gets complicated. I went and got the PAN and life’s been easier. It’s the kind of thing I’d like to have from a UID, as well. A normal, honest taxpayer will see a lot of good things in getting rid of bureaucratic hassle.”
For months, the Unique Identity Authority of India has touted its unique identity programme, or Aadhaar, as one which stands to benefit the poorest and most disenfranchised Indian citizens. But it could have a number of benefits for the middle and upper classes.
The 12-digit number will be given after the encryption of an individual’s biometric data and personal information. The UIDAI then hopes to see it linked to public service programmes and banking across India.
The biggest benefit could be increased efficiency in day to day activities like changing an address on a bank account.
“A middle class person could do away with different forms of identification you need to carry around,” Mukherjee said, including passports and PAN cards. “If I want to change my gas card or my address, it’s easy if these linked to my UID number.”
Bank accounts would also be easily accessible by phone and internet, eliminate time-costly branch trips.
“If I can designate one of my accounts as UID enabled and just present my number, I can do transactions over my phone,” Mukherjee said. “Your day to day financial actions are made easier.”
A UID could also lead to an easier system for making personal financial investments and getting bank loans. A number of identifications are currently required as PAN numbers aren’t considered unique identities – Mukherjee said he knew people who had two or three.
The legions of upwardly mobile young Indians whose jobs keep them on the move could find their lives simplified.
For Radha Roy, head of the Delhi offices of Rediffusion Y&R Public Relations, “having a UID would be huge, a breakthrough. I’ve moved to three cities and every time I’ve struggled with providing the address proof and documentation for everything from starting from a bank loan to getting a new phone.”
Roy, who frequently travels to the United Kingdom on business and pleasure, said she is forced to undergo biometric testing every time she applies for a U.K. visa. She would be spared part of the hassle of booking international travel, she said, if her UID biometrics could be easily scanned.
“Right now on a daily basis I carry a PAN and if I had a drivers’s license I would carry it as well,” she added. “With a UID, the ID element will get resolved forever. The biggest struggle is what is your address proof. You always have to produce it for telephone connection – try and get a new one! If all of that hassle got resolved it would make mobility within the country so much easier for people. For the ‘yuppie’ crowd which is traveling around from city to city because of work, this is a big struggle.”

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