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, January 21, 2015

7232 - Are you a citizen or resident of India? - Business Standard

Union government neglected to provide certification or a national identity card in accordance with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003


Sahil Makkar  |  New Delhi  January 19, 2015 Last Updated at 00:10

One of the secretaries in the Union government grew agitated when it was pointed out to him that though he might be holding an Indian passport, an Aadhaar number and a voter identity card, it did not necessarily mean he was a citizen of India.

Shocked, the secretary wondered how. It was explained to him that none of these documents validates him as an Indian citizen, according to the existing laws, and the onus was on him to prove his citizenship before the state.

This is because the Union government neglected to provide certification or a national identity card in accordance with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003, with its genesis in the Citizenship Act, 1955. A citizen is eligible for all entitlements, including voting rights, whereas a resident can be a foreign national.

The latest law says a person can be a citizen of India by birth, naturalisation, descent, incorporation of territory and through the government's special grants, provided he or she meets certain specifications. For instance, those born after December 3, 2004, can claim citizenship by birth only if both parents are Indian citizens or one of them is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant. Those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, have to prove that either parent was an Indian citizen at the time of his or her birth. The restriction does not apply to those born on or after January 26, 1950, and before July 1, 1987.

But people born between January 26, 1950, and July 1, 1987, need to produce any of the 19 documents, including birth certificate, radio licence issued in the 1970s, land records, matriculation certification and death certificate, to have their names registered in the National Register of Indian Citizens. The 2003 law says the Registrar General of India (RGI) must create this citizens' register and issue a national identity card to citizens after verifying their documents and antecedents. Only the RGI's office can provide certification for citizenship.

"Even people in the highest echelons of society and the bureaucracy have not proved their citizenship to the right authority. The law makes it compulsory for everyone to enroll for the National Register of Indian Citizens," said a senior government official.

"It is also true that the voting right is only given to a citizen but in India, the Election Commission could not verify through a robust mechanism whether someone is an Indian citizen or a person from another country. Faking documents is very common in India and it is a Rs 1,000 crore industry in the border areas," the official added.

The Citizenship Act of 1955 was amended following the recommendations of the K Subrahmanyam committee set up to look into security lapses that led to the Kargil war in 1999. The purpose of amending the law was to weed out illegal migrants and provide a credible individual identification system. It gave the RGI the authority to develop a mechanism through which each citizenship claim was verified.

As a follow-up to the Act, the government took up a pilot project in 2003-07 in the border and coastal areas and found 98 per cent of residents were citizens of the country by birth. But the citizenship scheme remained in cold storage till the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed over 166 people. After that, the government was quick to launch an exercise to create the National Population Register (NPR) for all residents, a precursor to the citizen register . The NPR has been created and digitised.

The next logical step is to visit each household and obtain documents from residents about their birth claims. These documents will be cross-checked against data collected during the census and NPR process.

The officials say a proposal worth Rs 5,500 crore is pending for months at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) for creating the citizens' register and issuance of national identity card. After the PMO's nod, it will be presented to Cabinet for a final approval.

"It will take another three years to finish the entire exercise and issue the national identity cards," said the official quoted above.

Many believe the government is reluctant to give citizenship clearance due to political reasons. Many parties depend on migrant votes, but it will be almost impossible for an illegal migrant to obtain a fake voter identity card and vote during the elections.