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

Sunday, February 5, 2012

2325 - BJP takes up ID-card issue as poll plank - Northeast Indians

Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, March 14 – BJP’s new IT vision envisages according top priority to detect illegal migrants by re-jigging the UPA’s brainchild programme Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) to create a new authority, 

Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) by amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. The national ID plan is a key component of the Party’s IT Vision,” declared Opposition leader and Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, LK Advani releasing the IT Vision ‘Transforming Bharat’.

The release function was attended by national president, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Arun Jaitely, among others. The man behind the Project is Assamese IT professional Pradyut Bora, who heads the BJP’s IT cell.

Addressing the function, Advani said that security concern continues influenced by the problem of to be illegal migrants. “There are an estimated 1-2 crore illegal Bangladeshis in the country,” he contended.

Castigating the UPA Government for not doing anything, Advani charged that in a way the Government of India was colluding with them.

The centrepiece of the implementation of the BJP’s IT Vision is the Multi-purpose Identity Card (MIC), a programme started by the then NDA Government. The party also pooh-poohed the attempt of the UPA Government to introduce the (UIAI).

“Only in January did the UPA Government make a token attempt to be seen as responsive on this issue, when it set up UIAI, as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning Commission,” the document said.

Against this slipshod and half-hearted attempt of the UPA Government, a future BJP-led NDA Government would give this programme topmost priority.
“We would amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to combine the offices of register General if Census of India and that of the UIAI to set up a CRAI. The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory
under law for all citizens to acquire an MNIC, and parents of newly born infants would have to apply for one for their child immediately after the baby’s birth.

It would be responsible for maintaining a National Register of Citizenship (NRC), and keeping it current up to the minute.

Based on the BRC, CRAI would issue each citizen an MNIC with a unique Citizen Identification Number (CIN). CRAI would maintain 24X7 online presence and enable Government, law enforcement agencies and private institutions to let their computer system ‘look up’ the MNIC database in real time, the document proposes.

The BJP promises to complete the MNIC rollout within three years of taking office, the Vision Document promises.

Earlier, introducing the Project, Arun Shourie said that IT Vision is part of the agenda of good governance. The emphasis is on technology for people. He also explained the benefits that would be derived from the new IT policy and some of its highlights.

Recalling the initiatives taken by the NDA regime in the IT sector, he said the new policy would help in telemedicine, health, and education, besides other sectors. The document promises to re-orient the IT sector by empowerment of rural India.

Advani promised to take internet literacy to the country’s 6 lakh villages leading to creation of 1.25 crore new jobs. The BJP promised distribution of laptops to I crore students at interest free loans.

Meanwhile, the BJP national president inaugurated the new look BJP website (www.bjp.org). ASSAM TRIBUNE
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