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

Monday, June 1, 2015

8069 - Linking Voter ID with Aadhaar not mandatory - HANS India

May 29,2015, 02.45 AM  IST | | THE HANS INDIA

Your name will not be deleted from Voter List, if you don’t link
The Election Commission of India (EC) has launched the National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) campaign to purify the electoral rolls and remove duplicates. In the process, it has launched linking Aadhaar with one’s Voter ID. This was perceived and publicised in the media as a mandatory exercise and that failing to do so would result in deletion of names from the voter list. The ECI has now clarified that this exercise is only voluntary and no electoral service will be denied for failing to do so.

On 27th Febraury, 2015, the EC launched the NERPAP against the backdrop of duplicate names, multiple entries, repeating images and repeating Voter ID numbers etc. The procedure for deletion of multiple names & replacement is also not streamlined and not followed in all States. The EC also observed that the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were not giving enough attention to these issues and were not disposing of complaints in a given time frame. The ECI also mentioned cases where various courts expressed concern about such defective electoral rolls.

The NERPAP has the following major objectives: Linking and Authentication of Voter ID (EPIC) data of voters with Aadhaar data of UIDAI; Voluntary disclosure by voters about multiple entries concerning them and disposal of such cases within 15 days; Correction of errors; Improvement of Image Quality wherever requested; Obtaining the feeding the mobile number and email address of the voter so that periodic information of revision, deletion, correction and other details can be sent to the voter. A detailed methodology was suggested for feeding the Aadhaar number against the Voter ID. 

The process followed in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana earlier as a pilot was suggested to be followed by all the States. The Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of various States were asked to do a set of preparatory activities including press conferences, meetings with district officials, formation of Booth Awareness Groups, setting up of a state call center and proper training to officials.

The ECI also asked CEOs to give enough publicity to the Voluntary Disclosure of Multiple Entries campaign. It directed the CEOs to give advertisements in media, cinema halls highlighting that enrolling one’s name at more than one place is a punishable offence under Section 31 of the Representation of People’s Act.

Though the CEOs did not say it is mandatory, media has been projecting this exercise as mandatory and that names would be deleted in case one does not link their Aadhaar with their Voter ID.

Time & again, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the government cannot make Aadhaar mandatory for any scheme and issued a stern warning to the government in March 2015. Surprisingly, the EC letter launching the NERPAP does not talk about whether this is a mandatory or voluntary exercise. 

But this silence was perceived in the media and on various social media platforms as this exercise being mandatory. Many people who did not possess Aadhaar were forced to apply for one out of the fear of losing one’s voting rights.

After numerous complaints, the ECI clarified in a letter in April that this is only optional and non-furnishing of Aadhaar will not result in deletion of name. After a lot of complaints started landing up at their door, the ECI finally had to issue a detailed clarification on 22nd May, 2015 explaining that this exercise is not mandatory, but only optional.

This clarification cleared all confusion surrounding the issue and it unequivocally said that not linking Aadhaar with the Voter ID will not result in denial of any electoral service to the voter including deletion, fresh enrollment etc. It also said that the collection of Aadhaar is only for authentication and that Aadhaar will not be displayed or reflected anywhere in the electoral roll.  

By Rakesh Dubbudu