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, August 6, 2012

2674 - Fresh scheme for unique identity - Telegraph India

OUR CORRESPONDENT



Patna, July 25: The citizens yet to be covered by the Unique Identification Number (UID) project in the state would get Aadhar numbers through National Population Register (NPR) scheme.

A year after the commencement of the UID project in the state and coverage of less than one per cent of the total population, it has been wind up. The rest of the residents of the state would now be issued Aadhaar numbers and the corresponding “resident identity cards” on the basis of the NPR — a comprehensive identity database maintained by the registrar general and census commissioner of India under the ministry of home affairs.

Anil Kumar, director, business development, technology and marketing, General Post Office (GPO), Patna, told The Telegraph: “The registration authorities have divided the country in two halves for the purpose of compulsory registration of all citizens by issuing Aadhaar number. 

Accordingly, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been entrusted with the registration of 60 crore citizens and the remaining 60 crores citizens will be registered under the NPR project. According to the data available with us, over 20 crore citizens were registered in the first phase of the UID project across the country. Of them, 19.3 crore registered applicants have been delivered their UID numbers. Similarly, the process of collection of demographic data for the generation of the NPR across the country was done between April to September 2010 through house-to-house enumeration.”

According to sources, the NPR project comprises three steps — collection of demographic data, collection of biometric data and issue of Aadhaar numbers.
“After the completion of the first phase of the UID project on March 31, 2012, the registration authorities decided that the citizen registration in Bihar would now be covered by the NPR. Total 18.8 lakh citizens of the state were registered in the first phase of the UID project. Of them, as many as 18 lakh citizens have been delivered Aadhaar numbers. The rest of the applicants would be delivered their numbers within our set deadline of first week of August. Moreover, we have recently received a communiqué from our headquarters informing about non- inclusion of Bihar in the second phase of the UID. Acting upon it, the entire set-up of the UID registration across the state have been winded up and 4G Identity Solutions — the agency undertaking the biometric registration in the state— has taken back all the equipment to its headquarters in Hyderabad,” said Anil.

Earlier, the Bihar government entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UIDAI on August 20, 2010. The submission of application forms for UID cards started at the GPO, Patna, from June 24, last year.
While total 64 agencies were involved in the enrolment for UID cards in the first phase in the state, the Bihar circle of India Post was the sole authority responsible for the dispatch of the Aadhaar cards.

Aadhaar — a 12-digit individual identification number — would provide a universal identity for an individual and can be utilised for over 600 services in the country.