AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 1743 - Govt in a tight spot

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 28, 2011

1743 - Govt in a tight spot - Business Standard

Santosh Tiwari / New Delhi October 28, 2011, 0:27 IST

Duplication of work between UIDAI and NPR.

The government is in a tight spot over finding a solution to avoid duplication of work in collection of biometrics of citizens by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for Aadhaar numbers and the Census office for the National Population Register (NPR).

As a part of the three options on which ministries have been asked to give their suggestions, the proposal to allow the UIDAI to be the sole authority for collecting biometrics for Aadhaar numbers and the NPR work is under ‘active consideration’. “The UIDAI might be allowed to do the biometric work in coordination with the NPR, based on its requirements,” a senior government official associated with the whole process told Business Standard. After assimilation of comments, the issue would be put up before the Cabinet for a final decision, he said

BIOMETRIC TUSSLE

Options under consideration:

1. UIDAI to collect biometric records for both Aadhar and NPR work
2. UIDAI and NPR to continue with collection of biometric data separately
3. UIDAI to use biometric records from NPR for Aadhar numbers

The second option is to allow both the UIDAI and the NPR system to collect biometrics separately in accordance with their requirements. This, however, would mean duplication and extra cost to the exchequer.

Under the third option, the NPR system would gather biometrics and pass it on to the UIDAI for Aadhaar cards. This option may be time-taking. It would also impact the UIDAI’s plans in a major way, if it is stopped from collecting biometrics.

The UIDAI has already enrolled more than 110 million people for Aadhaar numbers. Under the first phase of the project, it is to enroll 200 million citizens by March 2012. The project aims to provide about 600 million unique identification numbers by 2014.

There has to be a clarity on whether the UIDAI will be allowed to collect biometrics after reaching the figure of 200 million, as the NPR has expressed reservations about using the UIDAI data.

The NPR, too, has the mandate to provide biometric-based identity cards. According to the earlier understanding, the NPR would share its data with the UID authority and vice-versa, but the Registrar General of India has refused to use the UIDAI data.

While the finance ministry has cleared a budget of over Rs 8,500 crore for the Aadhaar project, the estimated cost involved in the NPR is Rs 3,500 crore.