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, November 15, 2011

1974 - Sabotaging UID by Ibrahim Hamid

http://dqindia.ciol.commakesections.asp/11111401.asp

Author Name: Ibrahim Ahmad
Author Email: Ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in
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When the Unique ID project started in September last year, UIDAI (UID Authority of India), took about three months to cross the one mn-mark. And they crossed the 100 mn-mark last month. What started with a bang now seems to be running into all sorts of problems. Or so the perception seems to be getting built. It will be a historic tragedy if UID fails.

The problem seems to be at two levels. Implementation and acceptance. Implementation, to my mind is a minor factor, and for a project of this magnitude, is not unexpected too. The bigger challenge is of its acceptance. Not by the citizens they are actually standing in long queues for hours to get their UID cards. There are reports of Maoists in Jharkand, who had so far refused to be part of government schemes, getting UID cards made for their family members and fellow villagers. Such is the expectation from this card.

Unfortunately its the government departments and agencies that seem to be jealous. For instance, the Census office has refused to share its database with UIDAI, which they had earlier agreed to. There are so many reports of national banks and government departments not recognizing the UID cards. In a recent case, many citizens in Maharashtra discovered that when they presented the UID for driving licenses, or buying a scooter, or for opening a bank account, the UID card was not accepted as an address and ID proof. And when the matter was brought to the notice of higher officials, they said they have no formal notification. One has to see the disillusionment on people faces who found that the UID card was useless.

I have met a few IT secretaries who have scoffed at the idea of the UID card, and are actually working on something similar at the State level. The UIDAI team should not defocus and start running after various ministries and government departments to persuade and remind them to issue UID notification as a legal document for identity proof. The trio of the prime minister, finance minister, and the home minister key figures in the Indian government who can get things moving, with the backing of Sonia Gandhi must quickly put together a crack team to ensure that everybody is on board, and anybody who does not comply is taken to task. UID is a national project and it should be accepted by all.

On the issue of implementation, while a huge infrastructure has been put uparound 20,000 enrollment stations across the country being run by about 50 registrars there is no end to problems that citizens are facing for getting themselves registered. And these are the routine operational problems scanner not working, typing errors, system hanging, camera not working, long queues, the agent is on leave today...so on and so forth. With Nandan Nilekani and RS Sharma both stalwarts in their own fieldsat the helm, one expects that these problems should have been foreseen. It is giving quite a bad name to the whole project. One hopes they will be quickly rectified at a strategic level and not piecemeal.
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