AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 7598 - Caught in Apex court ire, Government says Aadhaar is voluntary and not proof of citizenship

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 27, 2015

7598 - Caught in Apex court ire, Government says Aadhaar is voluntary and not proof of citizenship - dna

Caught in Apex court ire, Government says Aadhaar is voluntary and not proof of citizenship

Wednesday, 18 March 2015 - 6:25am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: dna | From the print edition

Manan Kumar

Table has been turned against Aadhaar once again. A day after the Supreme Court lashed out on the government for making Aadhaar number mandatory for various services, the government admitted that it is voluntary and optional and not a proof of citizenship.

Table has been turned against Aadhaar once again. A day after the Supreme Court lashed out on the government for making Aadhaar number mandatory for various services, the government admitted that it is voluntary and optional and not a proof of citizenship.

What is the controversy surrounding Aadhaar?
Aadhaar scheme has been in controversy since the day it was conceived in the first meeting of empowered group of ministers (EGOM) in November, 2007 and recognised the need for creating an identity related resident database. Critics that included several state government, including the then Modi government in Gujarat had raised several objections against it, including that it is not validated by an Act passed by Parliament and the data collected by it will not be secure and violates privacy. The UPA government, however, went ahead with its decision and created and notified Unique Identification Authority of India on 28 January 2009 as an attached office under the aegis of Planning Commission.

What is govt's outlook towards Aadhaar?
The BJP that took strong objection to Aadhaar embraced it when its government came to power in the Centre in 2014. The Modi government, perhaps, understood its far reaching benefits in terms of cutting subsidy by delivering it to targeted BPL people and how it can help it get vote share of poor sections of the society in the future elections.

What is the Apex Court's stand on it?
Taking a strong stand on Aadhaar in 2013, the Supreme Court had directed that "no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card, in spite of the fact that some authority had issued a circular making it mandatory." Revisiting its decision, a bench of Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde and C Nagappan clarified on March 16, 2015 that demands made by officials for Aadhaar card is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's interim order of September 23, 2013.

Supreme Court's order comes in the wake of various examples of authorities violating its earlier order, such as the Delhi government's notification on March 9, 2015, insisting that couples require Aadhaar cards to get their marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act and Bombay High Court Registrar receiving an official communication asking him to make Aadhar mandatory for disbursal of salary to staff and even judges.

What has been the government's response?
The government in Lok Sabha clarified on Tuesday that Aadhaar is issued to the residents of the country. It is not a proof of citizenship. The union home ministry also conceded that the enrolment for Aadhaar is voluntary. However, skirting the question of the applicability of Aadhaar for delivery of various services that has been strongly objected by the Supreme Court, the government said, it is for the implementing authorities to decide on its applicability.