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

Sunday, July 26, 2015

8323 - Right to Privacy cannot be invoked to scrap Aadhar: Attorney General to Supreme Court - dna

Wednesday, 22 July 2015 - 9:19pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under our Constitution. It flows from one right to another right. Constitution makers did not intend to make right to privacy a fundamental right. "There is no fundamental right to privacy so these petitions under Article 32 should be dismissed: Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi


                             Aadhar cards File Photo
The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that a "fool proof" system would be in place for the implementation of Aadhar scheme and Right to Privacy cannot be invoked to scrap the welfare programme as it is not a fundamental right under the constitution. "Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under our Constitution. It flows from one right to another right. Constitution makers did not intend to make right to privacy a fundamental right. "There is no fundamental right to privacy so these petitions under Article 32 should be dismissed," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi submitted before a bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar which during the hearing said, "We are inclined to refer it to the larger Constitution bench".

He was countering the contention that the scheme of Aadhar based on collecting personal data violates the citizens right to privacy. "What is the contour and what is the interplay of various rights required to be ascertained," he said, adding that "Right to privacy is not absolute and is subject to restrictions." The Attorney General said the plea for scrapping the scheme cannot be allowed. "We are formulating a fool proof system," he submitted before the bench, also comprising Justice S A Bobde and C Nagappan, which asked "would a person bargain his fundamental right to privacy to get a fundamental right of food".

"If a court comes to the conclusion that the right to privacy is a fundamental right then you cannot waive it," the bench observed while the Attorney General said if such issues are arising in the matter then "why can''t it be referred to a larger bench". Rohatgi said there is a "clear divergence of opinion" on the right to privacy and "a classic case of unclear position of law".

Further, he said the makers of Constitution also did not intend to make it a right and referred to apex court''s judgements in this regard. The court was hearing a batch of pleas against decisions of some states to make Aadhaar cards compulsory for a range of activities including salary, PF disbursements and marriage and property registration.

The AG said question does not arise of any violation of the right when it is not there and asked the Supreme Court to refer the case to a five-judge Constitution bench to decide whether Right to Privacy can be declared a fundamental right. Senior advocate Shyam Divan opposed AG''s submission and said those verdicts do not hold ground currently as jurisprudence has evolved through judgements of Supreme Court over the years. "I think it is a very disappointing proposition that Indians don''t have right to privacy", he said.

However, the bench said, "Don''t you think that if you have a divergence of views on right to privacy, then should it not be referred to a five-judge bench." Divan will continue his arguments tomorrow.


Earlier, the court had said Aadhaar will not be mandatory and a person, who does not have have it, should not suffer in availing government benefits and services like gas connections, vehicle and marriage registration, scholarships, and provident fund. It had asked the Centre not to issue Aadhaar cards to illegal immigrants as it would legitimise their stay.