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

Saturday, May 4, 2013

3283 - Data thefts of Aadhar loom large



Data thefts of Aadhar loom large
Rahul Ramakrishna | May 2, 2013 | 0 Comments

Civil society and RTI activists plan to move Supreme Court on the safety aspects of Aadhar data.



With over seven lakh Aadhaar enrolment applicants’ data missing, the question now being raised is what can happen if it lands in the wrong hands?

It is common knowledge that data are the new currency. Since the basics required for living demand proofs of identity, data now translates into a benefit of availing any government or private service.

The loophole with the Aadhaar card system, however, is the framework of its functioning. Many feel that there is no guarantee of data safety, considering the number of private players roped in to handle the enrolment for the Aadhaar card.

According to Viplava Simha Reddy, High Court advocate, “The government has done a blunder by employing private agencies for enrolment. These agencies have employees who do not owe allegiance to government and have all the freedom to misuse the data they are entrusted with. It is the Central government’s responsibility to prosecute those private agencies found guilty of data loss and mismanagement.”

He also adds that if any individual is unhappy with the state of functioning of enrolment agencies, he/she can file an RTI and claim their proofs of identity back.

“If this does not happen, one can move the Supreme Court and thereby bring attention to this issue effectively,” he says.

Registrar is an entity recognised by UIDAI for enrolling individuals for UID cards popularly known as Aadhaar cards. Registrars are those entities which are normally frequented by people for various purposes like banks, rural development departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs).

These registrars will also act as data warehouses for storing applicants’ details which will be further deposited to CIDR (Central ID Data Repository) for keeping all citizens’ data in one place.

Given the number of copies of proofs of identity that are hoarded by those handling the enrolment processes, cyber experts believe they have a huge profit value in the international black market.

“In Hyderabad itself, insurance and banks pay huge amounts for customer data bases. Normally, agents are hired and paid through bidding process for bank account information and credit card information. The bids start at `13 and end at `750. In my opinion, if the data of seven lakh applicants were put on the international market, anybody from the corporates to fundamentalist organisations will be willing to buy it,” says Srikanth Sahay, cyber security expert.

“ It is hard to understand how there has been no public agitation or action against the Aadhaar card or the recent data loss, considering the immense security threats it poses.There is a false sense of security among our citizens,” says Srikanth.

Data thefts
According to the National Crime Bureau Records of 2012, Andhra Pradesh accounted 349 out of the total 1,791 cases which is 19.5 per cent, followed by Kerala (277), Karnataka (151) and Rajasthan (122). These cases related to data loss/theft, computer hardware mismanagement.
Hyde­rabad registered 76 cases in 2012.

According to City Cyber Crime Wing ACP K. Chitti Babu, “ We have not so far received any complaint of data theft or identity theft related to Aadhaar card. However, we do come across many such cases every year.”

Civil society activists plan to file a PIL in the Supreme Court with the help of senior counsels. Raoji Brahamanand, RTI activist and former civil servant says, “ It is surprising that nobody from the judiciary circles have challenged the credibility of the Aadhaar card. The government is arm twisting its citizens into enrolling for the Aadhaar card but states that it is not mandatory. It is like poisoning the village well and selling mineral water bottles and proclaiming that people are buying it on their free-will.”


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