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

Monday, October 7, 2013

4775 - DISE: Tracking students’ progress to get easier with inclusion of Aadhaar number - The Indian Express

Ardhra Nair : pu, Mon Oct 07 2013, 02:23 hrs


From this year, data collection from all schools in the state for Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) will have many added features. 

The most important being the addition of Aadhaar card number of students along with other data.

Zilla Parishads across the state have started the procedure to collect Aadhaar numbers of students to make an integrated Aadhaar enabled U-DISE. The aim of DISE website is to provide school-related statistical information on the implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in India.

"This will help in child tracking. Along with Aadhaar card number, we are also taking other details of students such as scholarship and family information. We are also asking for students' entire school details. Once we get all details along with the Aadhaar card numbers, tracking the progress of children will become easier. Once these details are filled, a child-specific ID is created that can be used whenever information is required," said Nandkumar Theurkar, computer programmer, Pune Zilla Parishad.

"This will also help in making the DISE data more accurate as duplication is not possible. Even if a child leaves a school and joins another, we will have a record of him or her despite change of cities. This will also tell us whether the benefits have actually reached the students," he said.

Aadhaar-enabled DISE project is a visionary project and will take at least two years to be completed, said officials. "Only 10 per cent of the students will give Aadhaar details this year. Once there is awareness about the initiative and its benefits, more students will get Aadhaar numbers. Once a full-fledged database for students is developed by the Zilla Parishad, paper work can be minimised. May be, one day, students may not have to actually take migration or leaving certificates while moving from one place to another as everything will be on the website and all the teacher would want to do is check his background using the child's ID and school DISE code," added Theurkar.

Along with Aadhaar card number, the form also contains details like social category, economical category, disability, scholarships received etc. Other details have also been added like whether the child is homeless, attendance, status of previous school, class etc.

"Even the DISE data parameters for secondary education and teachers have been increased this time. The aim is to make an exhaustive database of education system from Class I to XII," said Mushtaq Shaikh, Zilla Parishad education officer.

The aim
DISE website provides school-related statistical information on the implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in India.

Details Sought
*Social category
*Economical category
*Disability
*Scholarships received
*Family information