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

Monday, March 12, 2012

2422 - Rejection of Congress's hand symbol, vote against Aadhaar/UID/NPR & biometric profiling - Press Release

Hindi Press Release given below

Press Release

March 7, 2011

Rejection of Congress's hand symbol, vote against Aadhaar/UID/NPR & biometric profiling

High-risk biometric & surveillance technologies threat to civil liberties & sovereignty

Proposal for FDI & FTAs rejected as well

Delhi, Patna, Chennai & Bangalore: Electorate in Uttar Pradesh have rejected the proposal of the Indian National Congress to
allow themselves to be identified with their biometric data like iris scan and thumb impressions. Rahul Gandhi campaigned in UP using the Aadhaar as an election agenda. Now that he has taken responsibility of his party’s defeat, he should call for stopping Aadhaar project because the verdict is against it.

Supporting Home Ministry and Planning Commission’s scheme of uniqueidentity, the party had showcased aadhaar and related National Population Register (NPR) for Multipurpose Identity Card (MNIC), voters in general and poor have given their verdict against it. The party had claimed that the Aadhaar/NPR card will also address the discrepancies in controversial Below Poverty Line (BPL) list by hiding violation of the provisions of Census Act with ulterior motives. It was used like a fish bait to entrap citizens against democratic and legislative mandate. The message for P Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Nandan Nilekani is that UP electorate who were promised Aadhaar/NPR/MNIC has rejected it. This project is applicable to vehicles and animals too through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in later phases.

In our country, a surveillance regime has been proposed by Indian National Congress led United Progressive Alliance for the people but not for biometric and other intrusive technologies. Besides India’s Parliamentary Standing on Finance, countries like UK, Australia, Philippines and China have rejected aadhaar/NPR/MNIC like projects respecting people’s mandate.

It has reliably been learnt that officials from Infosys company have been giving leadership training to leaders of Indian National
Congress. This may have impacted decision making with regard to aadhaar/NPR/MNIC but it has clearly not worked in UP elections.

Recent reports of efforts to put Union Finance Minister and Defence Minister under surveillance reveal that there is paucity of capacity to monitor or regulate these technologies. If this is the plight of the ministers and technologically challenged political class, the threat for citizens can easily be understood.

Post UP elections, government must review its capacity to regulate an emerging technology regime that is undermining democracy and sovereignty and should not be misled by unelected cabinet ranked officials who say, “Technology has no history and no bias, it treats everyone the same way.”History of technologies reveals that it is their owners who are true beneficiaries especially when it is used for social control. There is a compelling need to urgently assess the claims and risks of biometric and surveillance technology and how some companies made UID/NPR/MNIC politically persuasive for the ruling party and intertwined the systems of technology with crying need for governance.

UP verdict is also a mandate against diluting federal structure of the country, FDI in the retail sector, free trade agreements (FTAs) that were aimed at turning India into a market democracy where executive and legislative decisions are driven by profit mongers not by public interest.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL), New Delhi, Mb: 07739308480, 09818089660,
E-mail-krishna1715@gmail.com
Vinay Baindur, Bangalore, Email:yanivbin@gmail.com
Anivar Aravind, Chennai, E-mail-anivar.aravind@gmail.com, mb: 09448063780




प्रेस  विज्ञप्ति  march, 2012
उत्तर प्रदेश ने 
चिदंबरम, अहलुवालिया व निलेकनी के 
'आधार' को अंगूठा दिखा दिया 
बायोमेट्रिक और खुफिया तकनीकी से मानवाधिकार व संप्रभुता को खतरा 
मतदाताओ ने 
विदेशी पूंजी निवेश और मुक्त व्यापार समझौतों को भी खारिज किया  
दिल्ली, बंगलौर, चेन्नई, पटना -
चुनाव के दौरान उत्तर प्रदेश में कांग्रेस पार्टी ने चिदंबरम, अहलुवालिया व निलेकनी की सलाह पर अंगूठे और आँखों की पुतलियो की तस्वीर की निशानदेही के 'आधार' (
यू.आई.डी) पर ही उन्हें नागरिक मानने और सरकारी योजनाओ के फायदे देने की शर्त रखी थी. इसके जरिये देशवासियों के पूरे  शारीरिक हस्ताक्षर को रिकॉर्ड में रखा जा रहा है. उत्तर प्रदेश के मतदाताओ ने उनकी इस गुस्ताखी की सजा दे दी है. राहुल गाँधी ने 'आधार' को पार्टी का अजेंडा बनाया था. अब जबकि उन्होंने पार्टी की हार की जिम्मेवारी ले ली है उन्हें चाहिए की वो मतदाताओ द्वारा खारिज 'आधार' परियोजना को रोकने के लिए कदम उठाये. कांग्रेस पार्टी की इस योजना को अमेठी और रायबरेली में भी अंगूठा दिखाया गया है. चुनाव से पहले इस पार्टी ने काफी प्रयास किया की चिदंबरम, अहलुवालिया व निलेकनी एक टीम की तरह काम  करे और नागरिको को जनगणना कानून के उलंघन की सच्चाई छुपा कर गृह मंत्रालय के राष्ट्रीय जनसँख्या रजिस्टर की ख़ुफ़िया निगाह में लाया जाये. उत्तर प्रदेश के मतदाताओ ने यह हिमाकत करनेवालों को सबक दे दिया है. वित्त की संसदीय समिति ने इसे खारिज कर दिया था अब उत्तर प्रदेश ने भी इसे खारिज कर दिया है. 

ब्रिटेन, चीन, आस्ट्रलिया, फिलिपिन्स और अमेरिका की बदनाम हो चुकी परियोजना को भारत में भी तिलांजलि न दे देनी पड़े, इस बात की आशंका के चलते अब सरकार के द्वारा कहा जा रहा था कि यू.आई.डी. अंक वैकल्पिक है अनिवार्य नहीं। अब यह खुलासा हो चुका है कि कुछ कंपनियों के दबाब में सरकार नागरिको को गुमराह कर रही थी. असल में
' आधार' (यू.आई.डीसे जुड़ी है राष्ट्रीय जनसंख्या रजिस्टर (एन.पी.आर.) की परियोजना जो अनिवार्यहै. 
इसके जरिए 
गृह मंत्रालय केरजिस्ट्रार जनरल आफ इंडिया आंकड़ों का भंडार तैयार करेंगे। यह समझ लेना होगा कि जनगणना और राष्ट्रीय जनसंख्या रजिस्टर अलग-अलग चीजें हैं। जनगणना जनसंख्या, साक्षरता, शिखा, आवास और घरेलू सुविधाओं, आर्थिक गतिविधि, शहरीकरण, प्रजनन दर, मृत्युदर, भाषा, धर्म और प्रवासन आदि के संबंध में बुनियादी आंकड़ों का सबसे बड़ा स्रोत है जिसके आधार पर केंद्र व राज्य सरकारें योजनाएं बनती हैं और नीतियों का क्रियान्वयन करती हैं, जबकि राष्ट्रीय जनसंख्या रजिस्टर पूरे देश के नागरिकों के पहचान संबंधी आंकड़ों का समग्र भंडार तैयार करने का काम करेगा। इसके तहत व्यक्ति का नाम, उसके माता, पिता, पति/पत्नी का नाम, लिंग, जन्मस्थान और तारीख, वर्तमान वैवाहिक स्थिति, शिक्षा, राष्टीयता, पेशा, वर्तमान और स्थायी निवास का पता जैसी तमाम सूचनाओं का संग्रह किया जाएगा। इस आंकड़ा-भंडार में 15 साल की उम्र से उपर सभी व्यक्तियों की तस्वीरें और उनकी उंगलियों के निशान भी रखे जाएंगे। राष्ट्रीय जनसंख्या रजिस्टर के आंकड़ो-भंडार को अंतिम रूप देने के बाद, अगला कार्यभार होगा हर नागरिक को विशिष्ट पहचान अंक प्रदान करना। यह अंक इसके बाद राष्ट्रीय जनसंख्या रजिस्टर में टांकें जांएगे।


उत्तर प्रदेश के मतदाताओ ने इसे खारिज कर देश को रास्ता दिखा दिया है.
 
यह योजना  गाड़ियो और जानवरों पर भी रेडियो ध्वनि द्वारा लागु होने जा रही है, जो परत दर परत सामने आ रहा है. यह परियोजना संयुक्त राष्ट्र अमेरिका और फ्रांस की कंपनियों और विश्व बैंक के जरिये लागु किया जा रहा है. दक्षिण एशिया में यह पाकिस्तान में लागु हो चुका है और नेपाल और बंगलादेश में लागु किया जा रहा है . 

इस बात पर कम ध्यान दिया गया है कि कैसे विराट स्तर पर सूचनाओं को संगठित करने की धारणा चुपचाप सामाजिक नियंत्रण, युद्ध के उपकरण और जातीय समूहों को निशाना बनाने और प्रताड़ित करने के हथियार के रूप में विकसित हुई है। राजनीतिक कारणों से समाज के कुछ तबकों के जनसंहार का अगर एक समग्र अध्ययन कराया  जाए तो उससे साफ हो जाएगा कि किस तरह निजी जानकारियां और आंकड़े जिन्हें सुरक्षित रखा जाना चाहिए था, 
वे हमारे देश में दंगाइयों और जनसंहार रचाने वालों को आसानी से उपलब्ध थे। भारत सरकार भविष्य की कोई गारंटी नहीं दे सकती। अगर नाजियों जैसा कोई दल सत्तारूढ़ होता है तो क्या गारंटी है कि आधार' (यू.आई.डी.) और राष्ट्रीय जनसँख्या रजिस्टर के आंकड़े उसे प्राप्त नहीं होंगे और वह बदले की भावना से उनका इस्तेमाल नागरिकों के किसी खास तबके के खिलाफ और कोई देश इसे हासिल कर दुसरे देश के खिलाफ इस्तेमाल नहीं करेगा?बायोमेट्रिक और खुफिया तकनीकी से मानवाधिकार व संप्रभुता का खतरा पैदा हो गया है.   
चुनाव के दौरान पार्टी ने 
मतदाताओ को विदेशी पूंजी निवेश और मुक्त व्यापार समझौतों की वकालत की थी जिसे खारिज किया गया गया.
For DetailsGopal Krishna, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL), New Delhi, Mb: 07739308480, 09818089660, E-mail-krishna1715@gmail.com 
Vinay Baindur, Bangalore, Email:yanivbin@gmail.com
Anivar Aravind, Chennai, E-mail-anivar.aravind@gmail.comMb: 09448063780