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

Thursday, February 27, 2014

5203 - Online registration available at NIMHANS now - TNN

Saswati Mukherjee, TNN | Feb 16, 2014, 06.23PM IST

BANGALORE: The endless wait to get an appointment to see a doctor at NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) is finally over. This super speciality hospital at its 40th Institute Day celebrations (and its first after being declared as an institute of national importance) on February 14 announced the launch of an online registration feature for the convenience of patients. 

The first public institute to be declared an e-hospital, the authorities are hoping to get down the direct booking numbers and encourage people to book online for appointments. "There have been instances wherein people have come in as early as 4.30 am to stand in the queue just to see a doctor and still not been able to do it because of the huge rush here. Our objective with this initiative is to encourage the educated class to make on online booking first and then come in," said P Satish Chandra, director of NIMHANS. 

When people come in after booking online, doctors at the screening section of the hospital see them and then refer them to the concerned specialists. This makes the system streamlined and people coming in also get to the doctors early. At NIMHANS, an average 1,000 patients walk in at the OPD section. 


How the online registration works 

*Once name is registered, the person will get an sms confirmation on their personal mobile numbers. 

*On the specified date, people walk in to the screening clinic along with the print-out of the online registration or sms. Pay the registration fee and obtain registration slip against which they would be seen. 

*To begin with, 50 slots would be available for such online registrations and patients can choose any one of the six consecutive days on which they can get appointments. 

*Registration will be closed by 12 noon for the following day. 

Link medical reports to Aadhaar: Nandan Nilekani 

"Linking medical reports of an individual to their Aadhaar card will make it easy for them to have access to quality healthcare. Given that medicine and the healthcare sector is getting data-oriented, linking all medical reports of a person to his Aadhaar card would surely provide a fundamental privacy as only the individual would have access to the reports. It would also be completely portable so that the healthcare record moves with the person. With modern technology in place, it is possible. It is easy to do it in India as there is currently no data at all while in the US, information is all scattered. Technology has given us an opportunity to leapfrog and healthcare providers should come forward to make it possible," said Nandan Nilekani, chairman of UIDAI and the chief guest at the event. 


Giving out figures, Nilekani said that 58 crore people in India have been given Aadhaar cards in 4.5 years so far and the number is only growing. The ambitious UID project will soon be launched in UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh too.