AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8503 - Aadhaar card: To have or not to have?

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

Thursday, August 13, 2015

8503 - Aadhaar card: To have or not to have? - The Hindu

August 11, 2015

Aadhaar card: To have or not to have?

The Supreme Court on Aug.11, 2015 told the government to give wide publicity in media that Aadhar was not mandatory to get benefits which are otherwise due to citizens. However, governments — Centre and States — have tried to press Aadhar on people by making it mandatory to access select services.

Here are 10 instances where governments insisted on people having an Aadhar card when you actually didn't:

The Supreme Court on Aug.11, 2015 told the government to give wide publicity in media that Aadhar was not mandatory to get benefits which are otherwise due to citizens. In September 2013 itself, the apex court had ordered that no citizen should be denied government benefits for not having the Aadhar card.

However, governments — Centre and States — have tried to press Aadhar on people by making it mandatory to access select services. Often, the orders had to be retracted after protests.

Here are 10 instances where governments insisted on people having an Aadhar.

Jan Dhan Yojana

The scheme to open bank accounts for all, launched immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden Independence Day speech last year, says an Aadhaar card is enough to open an account on the spot. However, the government clarified later that the card is not mandatory.

Passport verification

In Nov. 2014, a month after batting for Aadhaar, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a note saying plans were afoot to make Aadhaar number mandatory for issue of passport. This was later withdrawn but the fact remains that having an Aadhar card eliminates the routine police verification and speeds up the passport issue process.

Provident fund transactions

The government in October 2013 said salaried employees in the organised sector would have to provide their Aadhaar numbers for seeking benefits under the EPF scheme. The mandate was later withdrawn.

Road Transport Authority

Were you asked to produce your Aadhaar card for any transaction in any Road Transport Authority office across Andhra Pradesh? Since July 29, it has been made mandatory in the interest of better service and security.

Ration card & LPG subsidy

The Karnataka government in 2013, the Andhra Pradesh government in 2014 and the Puducherry government in 2015 asked all ration-card holders to produce their Aadhaar numbers to avail PDS benefits. In the same year, Indian Oil Corporation informed consumers that they would not get their LPG subsidy if they did not provide Aadhaar details.

Real estate transactions

In a recent interview, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government was considering making the use of Aadhaar mandatory so it “could provide a trail of all real estate transactions by an individual.” This, according to the FM, would aid in the crackdown on black money.

Mobile numbers

In Oct. 2014, the Central government said it would start linking mobile SIM cards with Aadhaar numbers, which would be an advantage for subscribers as they can get a host of services including financial transactions. It later clarified that it was not a mandatory process.

Matrimonial sites

In Dec. 2014, a report said the Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, in the wake of the Uber taxi rape incident, wanted all matrimonial sites to make it compulsory for users to provide their Aadhaar numbers for profile authentication.

Jail visits in Telangana

Faced with the daunting task of screening criminals posing as visitors to jails, the Telangana Prisons Department (TPD) has found a solution: In the near future, all those visiting prison inmates should carry their Aadhaar cards, it said on Aug.11, 2015

Property tax

In Dec. 2014, officials of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation came under criticism for insisting on Aadhaar numbers for payment of property tax. This practice by corporation officials has also been reported in Chennai.