AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 4680 - Indian media: 'Setback' for identity scheme

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

Sunday, September 29, 2013

4680 - Indian media: 'Setback' for identity scheme - BBC News India

Indian media: 'Setback' for identity scheme

The identity number is aimed at facilitating services for the poor

Media in India feel a Supreme Court order rejecting the requirement of a unique identification number for citizens to access benefits is a "setback" for the government in the run-up to the general elections next year.

The Aadhaar (Foundation) programme aims to provide a unique identity number to citizens to help transfer welfare funds to the country's poor.

The government hopes that the Aadhaar scheme will help in ending the role of middlemen in delivering welfare programmes.

While the federal government has not made it mandatory for citizens to obtain the Aadhaar card, some departments have reportedly linked their welfare programmes to the unique identification number.

"This matter requires to be heard. Put up for final hearing. Until then, no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card in spite of authority making it mandatory," the court said in an interim order while hearing petitions challenging the rollout of the Aadhaar scheme, the Hindustan Times reports.

The paper feels that "the order can slow down the government's game-changer direct benefit transfer of entitlements as it can't push people to enrol any more".

"The move could potentially crimp the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance's plans to use the direct transfer of benefits as a talking point in the upcoming general election; it had even coined a catchy slogan to do so - Apkaa paisa aapke haath (your money in your hands)," says business daily Mint.

The Times of India says the orders "comes as a respite to citizens who were harried by the growing demand of authorities to link delivery of a whole array of services and subsidies such as those for cooking gas to Aadhaar cards".

The paper adds that the order has "dealt a crippling blow" to the federal government's "showpiece Aadhaar scheme".

Staying with domestic news, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed concern over the misuse of social media in "flaring up communal passions" and requested state governments to take action against those responsible for sectarian violence, The Hindu reports.

"Social media… gives people freedom to express their opinions and thoughts. But we should not allow people to misuse this medium to create communal tension and spread hatred," Dr Singh said while addressing a meeting of the National Integration Council in Delhi.

Mr Singh highlighted the role played by circulation of fake videos in the recent communal violence in Muzaffarnagar district of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the paper says.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) will monitor the print and electronic media and take action against any "paid news" content as parties gear up for Delhi assembly elections in November, reports the Deccan Herald.

Akshay Rout, the EC's director-general, says a "24x7 mechanism" to monitor media content would be put in place, the paper says.

According to the EC, "paid news" can be defined as favourable media coverage or analysis appearing in any newspaper or TV channel "for a price in cash or kind as consideration".

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.