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

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

1567 - Russia To Adopt Universal ID Card in 2012 - Singularity Hub

by Aaron Saenz January 18th, 2011

2012 will be the year of universal ID cards in Russia

For all those conspiracy theorists out there, 2012 just got a little more ominous. As required by legislation passed this last summer, Russia will adopt a universal ID card starting next year. The Universal Electronic Card (UEC) is intended to eventually replace all local, regional, and national forms of ID, providing a central database through which Russians can access everything from medical insurance to ATMs. 
 
According to the official website, the UEC will be adopted by around 1000 national and regional services along with about 10,000 commercial enterprises. The mayor of Moscow has already declared it will be able to handle public transportation there, and we can expect similar adoptions throughout the nation. Will all Russians be carrying a single form of ID that is their only passport to all public and private services? Looks like it. A similar project has started in India, and there are experiments for related concepts in Mexico. Universal ID is starting to catch on around the globe. Where will it spread to next?
 
Ostensibly, the UEC is designed to push the Russian ID system into the 21st century. Not only is the card to provide a way for citizens to easily make electronic purchases (in person and online) it is supposed to cut down on fraud. While it doesn’t seem to include any biometrics, the card has other security measures. All information (whether for public or commercial use) will be stored in a database, not on the card. 
 
The UEC will have a number, a ‘passcode’, that points the user to the appropriate record in the database. It’s unclear what kind of readers (RF, magnetic strip, etc) will be able to access the UEC, but the site says that at least one (perhaps the only one ) will be contactless. For financial transactions users will be able to set predefined limits so that the card can only withdraw a restricted amount of funds over a period of time. Each use of the UEC will require the entry of a personal identification number, and get this, everyone will be granted a fake PIN as well! If someone is coercing you into using your UEC, then enter the fake PIN. Authorities will be notified surreptitiously while the transaction appears to be continuing regularly. I’m sure we can think of a dozen ways to get around that, but still, pretty cloak and dagger there, Russia.

Examples of how the UEC will work. Translations welcome.

Starting in 2012, Russians will be able to carry the UEC and start connecting it to their bank accounts, credit cards, bus passes, etc. Due to the legal mandate most of the businesses and all of the local/regional/national services will be required to accept it. Convenient, yes. Potentially disastrous? 
 
Maybe so, but Russia’s not going to be alone in this. India is adopting a universal ID for national identity, and is going to encourage public institutions and commercial enterprises to accept it. That UID, however, will contain some pretty thorough biometrics. Programs in Mexico (powered by a company in the US) will experiment with iris-based identification for public and commercial purposes, albeit on a smaller scale. Universal ID, especially those with advanced security features, seem to be a rising trend on the global stage.
 
There are some real benefits here. Convenience, certainly. Many Russians simply don’t have a way to make a secure purchase online, and their public system is a warren of overlapping ID cards that require an equally tangled bureaucracy. Properly set up, a UID tied into bank accounts could help you keep track of purchases and manage finances with greater accuracy. Security could also improve, but I think that any such system (even those that employ biometrics) are at best a short step ahead of criminal ingenuity.
 
I don’t think you have to be a conspiracy nut to notice the dangers either. With a single ID, agencies will be able to track personal activity more precisely. That could mean catching terrorists through financial detective work, but it could also mean a large scale invasion of privacy. Not sure if this is just old Cold War prejudice talking here, but I think Russia’s reputation makes that possibility seem likely.
 
In any case, whether or not Russia’s UEC proves to be a boon or bane to its citizens, it is certainly coming. And soon. The more often we see universal ID adoption, the more I believe that some form of that technology is going to spread to every industrialized nation around the world. Government or private issue, service or commercial orientated, biometrically enhanced or not – UID is on the rise. Whatever problems or advantages that may cause, we best prepare for them now.
 
[image credits: UECard.ru]
[source: UECard.ru (Google Translated to English here)]

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