AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 4789 - Mizoram goes ahead with AADHAR ignoring SC

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

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

4789 - Mizoram goes ahead with AADHAR ignoring SC - Assam Tribune

Mizoram goes ahead with AADHAR ignoring SC

Linda Chhakchhuak

AIZAWL, Oct 7 – Has the Congress-led Government of Mizoram committed contempt of court in the Supreme Court (SC) by going ahead with the biometric enrollment UID or AADHAR claiming it as ‘mandatory’?

At the same time, many observers wonder if the project being inaugurated at this time with the Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla flagging it off by being the first person to be registered under AADHAR in the State breaks the Election Model Code of Conduct (EMCC).

Elections was announced on October 4. The State Information and Public Relations department issued a press statement along with photographs of him and his family at home where their biometric data was taken by the AADHAR team. When asked about this, the Jt Chief Electoral Officer Lalengmawia told this reporter that they would discuss this issue with the Election Commission of India before giving a reply.

Even as the SC recently ordered that the AADHAR 12 digit number is not ‘mandatory’ and cannot be linked to a citizen getting access to essential services, the State Government here has issued a press release in which it claims that getting this number is ‘mandatory’ for a person to gain access to all services, including gas, bank accounts, mobile phones, registration of marriages, etc.

The press release was splashed as headlines in most of the dailies here. The press release in the local language went so far as to warn that (translated) “those who do not register themselves within the specified time and do not have the AADHAR 12 digit UID number would not be marked in the National Population Register and hence would not be regarded as citizens of India.”

On September 23, the top court ruled that the Centre or States must not insist on Aadhar cards for providing essential services. “No citizen should suffer for the want of Aadhar cards”, the court had said on a petition questioning the constitutional validity of the Unique Identity Card scheme. The Supreme Court had said Aadhar card is not mandatory and no person should be deprived of any government schemes for want it.

Speaking to this reporter over phone today, retired Justice KS Puttaswamy, who filed the Public Interest Litigation against AADHAR being made mandatory by executive order, told this reporter that the SC ruling is binding on the Central Government and all State Governments. Any government that does not take this ruling into consideration is committing contempt of court, he said.

He also said that the Central Government has moved the Supreme Court to modify its ruling to make it mandatory for certain beneficiary based welfare schemes. It is coming up for hearing tomorrow (October 8).

As it is AADHAR and the biometric scheme is already controversial here in the state where people have some beliefs based on Bibilical prophecies that warn against such establishment enumeration. They believe that this is a numbering by the devil who would control the population of the world by giving them IUDs and refusing those who do not have this number. This has spread fear and insecurity among believers which cannot be a good atmosphere especially during polling time.