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

Friday, October 21, 2011

1717 - FinMin Concedes to Plan Panel Demands - The Pioneer

THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2011 22:42     SEEMA SINDHU | NEW DELHI

Days after Planning Commission wrote to Finance Ministry to appoint independent financial adviser in Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) to regulate its finances transactions, UIDAI deputy director-general (K Ganga) has been divested of his routine administrative functions and entrusted with financial responsibilities only.

According to sources in the panel, Finance Ministry in a letter to the Plan panel and UIDAI has written that duties of K Ganga must restrict to finance, accounts, budget and internal audit and all other responsibilities of a financial adviser.

Earlier, Ganga was also looking after project related responsibilities like authentication and updation process; organisation related responsibilities like finance, Cabinet committee approvals and international cooperation; and coordination with other ministries like Agriculture, Chemicals and Fertilisers, Consumer Affairs and Food ( PDS), Petroleum and Natural Gas and Women and Child Development.

Plan panel argues that financial adviser is not supposed to handle routine administrative works and is only responsible for financial scrutiny.

In Economic Editor’s Conference on Thursday, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said, “We have resolved all issue related to the financial and executive authority of the body and it has been approved by the Finance Ministry.” He further informed that it will soon seek Cabinet nod for the second phase of the Aadhaar scheme.

In the letter written to Finance Ministry in September, the Plan panel had raised questions about the administrative structure of UIDAI and suggested to Finance Ministry to appoint an independent financial adviser to monitor its finances and transactions. Plan panel had said that UIDAI’s present system deviated from Government procedures and removes all systemic checks and balances. So there is a need to relook at the UIDAI’s administrative structure.

Another point it raised was that since UIDAI is its “attached office” and derives its budget from the ministry of planning, it should route its financial proposals through planning commission. But it is not kept in loop.

This was not the first time that differences between plan panel and UIDAI had come out in public. Earlier, Ahluwalia had complained to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram about cost escalation of the UID scheme.

The panel had also written to the Home Minister objecting to methods adopted to collect citizen biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans in the Aadhar or unique identification number.

Later, the panel and Finance Ministry both objected and rejected Nilekani’s demand for another Rs 15,000 crore to record biometrics for all 120 crore people.
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