AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 2788 - Number games before NRC update

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

Friday, January 25, 2013

2788 - Number games before NRC update

Number games before NRC update

Pankaj Borthakur, Guwahati (Nov 2): Brushing aside earlier apprehensions, the government has decided to go ahead with issuing the Unique Identification (UID) number to residents in Assam like other states where the exercise has already reached an advanced stage.

The 16-digit number, also called Aadhar, would be given to residents in Assam on the basis of the data compiled in the 2011 Census. The number, however, will not give citizenship status to the holder.

The main objective is to compile a centralized database of all inhabitants in the country. A highly placed official at the state home department said: “The number will not grant citizenship to anybody and so there is no point in delaying the exercise.”

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) is implementing the project through the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which is headed by former Infosys chief executive officer Nandan Nilekani. It has also opened an office in Guwahati.

The authority had concluded a memorandum of understanding with the state government in 2010 for the project but it has been delayed since it would depend heavily on the Census data.

Digitisation of the data for Assam is yet to be completed by the Census department in New Delhi. Other documents like ration cards, driving licences, bank passbooks and local residence certificates would also be taken into account for issuing the card.

Scanning of eye retinas and finger prints is mandatory in the process of registering under the UID system to prevent duplication of identities. In the Northeast, Tripura and Sikkim are the other states where the project has reached an advanced stage.

“In Assam, the works are being initiated while in Tripura about 90 per cent has already been completed,” said assistant director general of UIDAI, Devajit Khound.

But unlike these two states, the exercise in Assam passed through a phase of indecisiveness and confusion. The authority had initiated preliminary work for data collection in 2010 in Guwahati only to stop it after a few months.

When the scheme was announced by the Centre years ago, it raised concern among the indigenous population and civil society organisations in the state since it was imagined that the Aadhar card would serve as the basis for claiming citizenship.

The opposition has, however, fizzled out after it was known that the aim of the scheme is only to generate data. On the contrary, top officials are of the view that the database would help in detection of alien citizens since they would not be able forge their identities after being given registered.

They added that the database could be an “effective tool” to update the National Register of Citizens which is expected to be started soon in upper Assam.

“But the government must ensure us that no illegal migrant would be able to use the card as an evidence to claim citizenship,” said Aasu adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhatacharyya.