http://www.just-international.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5255:rejection-of-congresss-hand-symbol-a-vote-against-aadhaaruidnpr-and-biometric-profiling&catid=45:recent-articles&Itemid=123
Written by Gopal Krishna , Vinay Baindur & Anivar Aravind Posted: 10 March 2012 10:48
Written by Gopal Krishna , Vinay Baindur & Anivar Aravind Posted: 10 March 2012 10:48
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 unique identity, 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,
Vinay Baindur,
Bangalore, Email:
yanivbin@gmail.com
Anivar Aravind,
Chennai,
E-mail-anivar.aravind@gmail.com
By Gopal Krishna ,
Vinay Baindur & Anivar Aravind
7 March 2012
@ Countercurrents.org