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

Saturday, April 19, 2014

5474 - Allow farmers to open accounts with Aadhaar cards, says court - The Hindu

MUMBAI, April 16, 2014
Updated: April 16, 2014 18:41 IST

Allow farmers to open accounts with Aadhaar cards, says court

VINAYA DESHPANDE


A file picture of Bombay High Court in Mumbai. Photo: vivek Bendre.

Coming to the aid of hailstorm-affected farmers in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to facilitate the bank account opening of the affected farmers with the help of Aadhaar card only. The court opined that in the time of calamity, the farmers should not be made to submit a range of documents to get government relief in their accounts.

The petitioners had claimed that many farmers could not receive government aid as they did not hold any bank account. "The whole point of Aadhaar card was that they don’t require anyone’s certificate for opening account,” the division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah said. The State government thereafter made a submission that the District Collector has been directed to take initiative to open the accounts of such beneficiaries.

The court also directed the Maharashtra government and the Central government to submit a report by May 5 about the fund disbursement and the steps taken for the welfare of farmers. The court will hear the matter next on May 7.

“The State government will submit a report about the disbursement, and other steps taken so far. The Central government too should file a report about the steps taken for the allocation and release of funds for farmers in Maharashtra,” the court said in its order.

Meanwhile, the State government told the court that it had made a total disbursal of around Rs 1400 crore to nearly 15 lakh farmers in the state till date. It submitted an affidavit and a district-wise aid package given to the affected farmers till April 15.

“Before the last hearing, the government had disbursed Rs 540 crore. After that, we have given assistance of Rs 859 crore to the farmers. A total disbursement of Rs 1399 crore has been made to 14,73,751 farmers across the affected area,” assistant government pleader Milind More told the court.

Pradip Indulkar, Deputy Secretary, Relief and Rehabilitation, submitted that the government had surveyed 20.59 lakh hectares of affected land in the State.

“The central government has so far approved Rs 865 crore, of which Rs 685 crore assistance has already been released,” advocate Rajeev Chauhan, representing the Union government, told the court.

The petitioners brought to the notice of the court that the cattle affected due to the hailstorm needed urgent medical attention. The court then directed the government to expedite the medical treatment for the affected cattle which survived the hailstorm.
It also amended its previous order to direct the authorities against coercive recovery of loans for not just farming, but for all agriculture-related and allied activities. The petitioners submitted that the farmers and agricultural labourers continued to commit suicides despite the court order.

Keywords: Maharashtra, Bombay High Court, Farmers, Hailstorm, Relief, Aadhaar cards
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