AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 3393 - Aadhaar and the art of not-so-subtle persuasion

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, June 4, 2013

3393 - Aadhaar and the art of not-so-subtle persuasion - The Hindu

Aadhaar and the art of not-so-subtle persuasion

CHENNAI, June 3, 2013

ALOYSIUS XAVIER LOPEZ

Aloysius Xavier Lopez

After having studied Physics at Scott Christian College and Journalism at the Asian College of Journalism, Aloysius now covers civic issues, urban planning and development for The Hindu in Chennai.

E-mail: aloysius.x@thehindu.co.in

Residents have been anxiously queuing up to complete biometric verification — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

Many seem convinced the scheme is compulsory

A couple of days ago, Lavanya Mohan’s tweet on being ‘sent back in line’ for not wearing a dupatta while trying to get her picture taken for the Aadhaar number raised a storm on Twitter.

Users of the social networking site responded with anger and scorn over what they termed ‘moral policing.’ However, this does not seem to have adversely affected the process of verification at all. In fact, according to a Corporation official, the number of residents thronging offices in West Mambalam, where the incident occurred, has only increased since the controversy. This only reflects the fact that many think the scheme is compulsory.

Long queues of those anxious to complete biometric verification are a common sight everywhere. This is unsurprising as the word Aadhaar seems ubiquitous these days. It stares at you everywhere, from ATMs to civic body offices. The website of Unique Identification Authority of India, which issues the 12-digit individual identification number that is Aadhaar, says it is not mandatory. However, most people seem to believe otherwise.

“Residents are scared that they may even lose citizenship if they do not have Aadhaar number,” said N. Baskaran, a Corporation councillor in Saidapet. “Everyday at 5 a.m., people queue up at the ward office to get tokens. As biometric data is collected only from 30 people in a day, many of them return disappointed. Repeated failure causes panic,” S. Elumalai, a resident of T. Nagar.

Incidentally, the statement of the Minister of Planning in the Lok Sabha on December 2, 2009 clearly says that “Enrolment will not be mandated. The UID number will prove identity, not citizenship.”

Many citizens cited the notices at ATMs as the reason for the urgency. These notices ask residents to link the Aadhaar/UID number with their accounts to get “benefits of government subsidies.” The banks however deny having persuaded customers to link Aadhaar with their accounts.

The fervour seems to have penetrated the higher echelons of the city establishment too. Recently, the councillor of ward 129 staged a road blockade protesting the delay in issuing Aadhaar. Collection of biometric data is on at Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar, Anna Nagar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam zones. Work in Adyar zone will start soon.

“Six lakh residents have been covered by biometric identification under NPR in Chennai. All of them will get Aadhaar numbers automatically in 30 days,” said M.R.V. Krishna Rao, Joint Director, Census Department.

However, some experts were very critical of the process. “Aadhaar is farcical. It has no legal sanction. This is autocratic. It is just an IT business opportunity for a few,” said M.G. Devasahayam, a former IAS officer. “The government is enrolling all residents. But we have not discussed it in Parliament,” he added.