AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 3110 - Aadhaar cards dumped with vendors

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

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

3110 - Aadhaar cards dumped with vendors

Aadhaar cards dumped with vendors

Postmen fail to find beneficiaries at the given addresses in slums and colonies; residents cry foul

Aarti Kapur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4

Thousands of Aadhaar cards of residents living in colonies and slums are gathering dust at post offices or with roadside vendors in these areas as the Department of Posts has not been able to locate recipients at the addresses mentioned on the cards.

For the past few months, postmen deputed in slums and colonies are at their wits' end as they have failed to locate a large number of recipients at the given addresses. As a result, the undistributed cards are being dumped with area leaders or roadside vendors. In most cases, the cards are finding their way back to the post offices.

At Kajheri village alone, 56 Aadhaar cards were found lying with the area barber while the beneficiaries were running from pillar to post to get duplicate copies of the cards to avail of the services which are now available only after producing these cards. A few days ago, 200 Aadhaar cards were found lying in a garbage bin at Kajheri village.

Sham Singh of Colony No. 5 said two days ago, his area cobbler called him to deliver his Aadhaar card, which the area postman had dropped at his shop with the excuse that he had failed to locate his house. He said these days local confectionery shops and tea vendors were doing public service by delivering Aadhaar cards to residents as postmen often failed to locate them.

A representative of the Aam Aadmi Party, Kamal Kishore Sharma, who visited the colony two days ago, said residents of Kajheri had complained that around 200 Aadhaar cards were lying dumped in a garbage bin in the area. Residents then picked these up and informed the beneficiaries. Thousands of residents in 25 other colonies in the city are facing a similar problem.

A senior official of the Department of Posts said postmen had complained that they often found it difficult to deliver Aadhaar cards at the postal addresses in slums and colonies as a majority of the slum dwellers were not residing at the given addresses.

The official said the situation was even worse in rehabilitation colonies where residents had removed common walls due to which their addresses had changed.

Assistant Director General, Unique Identification Authority of India, Charu Bali admitted that they had received complaints from Kajheri and the department would communicate with the Department of Posts to resolve the issue. She said the UT Administration would also be informed about it so that the issue of delivering Aadhaar cards at the actual addresses could be resolved.

Residents of Mauli Jagran said a local leader had distributed Aadhaar cards to them instead of the postman concerned who was supposed to do so. They alleged that a number of residents had to apply for a duplicate copy of the Aadhaar card as they had not received the original one.

AAP delegation meets DC

A delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday met the UT Deputy Commissioner and complained that in Kajheri village, residents had complained that they were being charged Rs 10 for the delivery of an Aadhaar card at their address. Nitika Sharma, a representative of the party, said they had deposited 56 Aadhaar cards, which they had found lying at a barber's shop in the area, with the Deputy Commissioner's office. The party has demanded action against those responsible for the lapse.

200 cards found lying in garbage bin