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

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

3316 - Andhra Pradesh ahead of other States has an ‘aadhaar’ in enrolment - The Hindu


Andhra Pradesh ahead of other States has an ‘aadhaar’ in enrolment
HYDERABAD, May 16, 2013


Though the Aadhaar card enrolment started two-and-a-half years ago, and the rush for cards began after it was linked to LPG
Though the pace is tardy, Andhra Pradesh is way ahead in generation of Aadhaar cards in the country. With 5.86 crore cards generated, the State tops in the volume of unique identification numbers. Maharashtra comes second with 5.48 crore card generation followed by Madhya Pradesh (2.36 crore), Tamil Nadu (2.25 crore) and Karnataka (2.22 crore).
However, the enrolment in the State is far from over. Out of the total population of 8.47 crore till date, only 7.6 crore people have enrolled, while the number of Aadhaar cards generated is 5.86 crore. Of this, the number of cards delivered is only 4.7 crore. Nearly 1.15 crore cards are with the Postal Department awaiting delivery, officials say.
Aadhaar card enrolment ought to have been completed by now in the State since the programme started here two-and-a-half years ago. The slowdown is attributed to the lack of interest among people. It is only after it was linked to LPG there is a rush now to obtain the cards.
In respect of Hyderabad, Anantapur, Srikakulam, Chittoor, East Godavari, Krishna, Guntur,Vizianagaram and Nalgonda, more than 90 per cent of enrolment has been completed.
A total of 4,196 enrolment centres are functioning in the State where a minimum of 1.60 lakh enrolments take place everyday.
“By August we will achieve cent per cent enrolment,” says Shankar Shastry, Deputy Director, (Aadhaar), Civil Supplies Department. Statistics show that Aadhaar card enrolment in the State capital has touched 52.71 lakh, while the city population is only 40.10 lakh.
In the neighbouring Ranga Reddy the enrolment is 46.82 lakh as against the population of 52.96 lakh. The combined enrolment of both the districts come to 98 lakh.
The excess enrolment in Hyderabad is attributed to people from other districts getting enrolled here. A large number of persons working in the IT sector, military units and other companies in Hyderabad have got enrolled here, pushing up the figures.
“As per the UIDAI guidelines, any person with residential address can enrol his name anywhere in the country,” says Mr. Shastry.
Though Hyderabad district has achieved 130 per cent enrolment population-wise, still the left-over persons are being covered at the 80 centres with 177 kits. In Ranga Reddy some 7 lakh persons are yet to be enrolled in Tandur and Vikarabad. Once total enrolment is completed, the authorities propose to set up 1,161 permanent enrolment centres across the State in the existing e-seva centres.
“They are for enrolment of new born and for issue of duplicate cards in case of loss,” Mr. Shastry said.
However, the number of LPG consumers in Hyderabad who have linked with Aadhaar is only 5.8 lakh out of 12 lakh. Of these a mere 25 per cent have got their Aadhaar numbers linked to their bank accounts. The cumbersome procedure in banks which calls for filling up forms is proving a problem, particularly to illiterate persons.
“We plan to hold weekly meetings with the lead bank managers and oil companies to speed up bank linkage”, said chief rationing officer Padma.


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