AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 5382 - Changes that can make 'Aadhaar' a foolproof identity

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

Friday, March 28, 2014

5382 - Changes that can make 'Aadhaar' a foolproof identity - Rediff

Changes that can make 'Aadhaar' a foolproof identity

March 25, 2014 14:53 IST

Image: Chief of Congress party Sonia Gandhi (R) presents the 210 millionth biometric card to Vali , a villager residing in Rajasthan.

Photographs: Vinay Joshi/Reuters

Neha Pandey Deoras

At present, you can open a bank account using your Aadhaar number. You can even get a new mobile number with it.

However, when it comes to buying an insurance policy or investing in mutual funds, you will have to back your Aadhaar card with another government-authorised identification document like the Permanent Account Number (PAN). And, the role of the card may be limited to these few functions for now.

Image: Village women stand in a queue to get themselves enrolled for the Unique Identification database system at Merta district in Rajasthan.

Photographs: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters

The plans to make Aadhaar a one-stop solution for many problems took a serious hit on Monday, when the Supreme Court directed the government to withdraw all orders mandating Aadhaar for availing any service.

The apex court also directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to not to share any information pertaining to an Aadhaar cardholder with any government agency without the prior permission of the card holder.

Image: Last month, the government delinked Aadhaar from cooking gas subsidy.

Photographs: Reuters

The role of the card has been diminishing for some time. In September 2013, the SC ruled Aadhaar was not mandatory for essential services such as salary, provident fund disbursals and marriage and property registrations.

Last month, the Centre delinked Aadhaar from the cooking gas subsidy. All these led to Aadhaar’s relevance diminishing.

Says Abizer Diwaji, partner & national leader – financial services, at EY, “The government should see there is a need to refine this project to make it better.

If needed, they should make more changes to Aadhaar to make it a foolproof identity card like in the case with the US’ social security card.”

Image: One can link his bank account with Aadhaar.

Photographs: Reuters

A former UIDAI official says the government had never given any executive order to the UIDAI for making Aadhaar mandatory. “It was the individual agencies that made it mandatory like MGNREGS, LPG distributors and so on.

Aadhaar is like the US’ social security card, having which will ensure benefits directly go into the bank account or benefits are to be taken in cash,” he said.

He added that cardholders’ information sharing is also not allowed by existing UIDAI policy. “There were some cases of information sharing on orders from lower courts. Otherwise, UIDAI is not authorised to share card holders’ information with any agency,” he explains.

Image: A person arranges the Unique Identification documents submitted by people for their enrolment in Rajasthan.

Photographs: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters

The government started linking Aadhaar numbers to various social security schemes and bank accounts, in a way making it compulsory to own a card.

UIDAI officials say the objective of the mega project has gone awry.

The former UIDAI official said it remained to be seen what happens once Parliament passes the Aadhaar Card Bill and it becomes constitutionally valid. “Will the apex court reverse today’s judgement then?” he wonders.

Whether the next government will be keen on taking up the Aadhaar Bill in Parliament, remains.

So, experts advise those who don’t have an Aadhaar card to wait till the next government comes in and there is some clear decision on UIDAI. Those who already own a card should save it for the day the government decides to make it more relevant.