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, December 3, 2015

9112 - ‘ISI agent’ held in Meerut , Pak agency paid his kin Rs 50,000/month: Police - Indian Express



Mohammad Eizaz obtained Aadhaar card from Bareilly, voter ID and other documents from West Bengal

By: Express News Service | Lucknow | Updated: November 28, 2015 4:08 am


Mohammand Eizaz alias Mohammad Kalam. Documents recovered from him show that he is a resident of Taramadi Chowk, Irfanabad in Islamabad, Pakistan. (PTI Photo)

THE UTTAR Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Friday arrested Pakistani national Mohammad Eizaz alias Mohammad Kalam for allegedly sending vital information about the Indian Army to Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. He was staying in Bareilly district since December, 2014.

Eizaz, a resident of Islamabad in Pakistan, was arrested from Meerut Cantt area while on his way to Delhi. Police claimed to have recovered several documents related to the Indian Army, cellphone, laptop, pen drives, a fake voter identity card from West Bengal, a fake Aadhaar card with a Bareilly address, a photocopy of Nadar Card (Pakistani identity card) and other items from him.

“During interrogation, the accused revealed that in 2012, he had come in contact with the ISI. It trained him to work in India. He had to send information about the Army from western UP and Uttarakhand,” IG (STF) Sujeet Pandey told mediapersons in Lucknow.

The STF had received inputs that a Pakistani had been sent to western UP through Bangladesh to collect information about activities of the Army. “On a tip-off that Eizaz will leave for Delhi from Meerut Cantt station with sensitive and secret information of the Army, the STF team arrested him,” the IG said. His identity was ascertained from the documents recovered from him.

STF officials said that during questioning, Eizaz confessed that he worked for the ISI and that he had sent several vital information about the Indian Army to Pakistan, including movements of troops. Eizaz also said that his family in Pakistan were in the business of photography and videography.

“In India, Eizaz was doing photography and videography to collect information and procured a Aadhaar card from Bareilly with help of a local,” Pandey said, adding that Eizaz had been paid Rs 5.8 lakh till date and his family was paid Rs 50,000 per month in Pakistan.

Eizaz told the police that he came in contact with ISI officials in 2012 after the death of his father, who used to work at the Agricultural Research Center in Islamabad. The ISI officials trained him to work in India, he claimed. In 2013, he was sent to Dhaka on a Pakistani passport with the name of Mohammad Kalam. He claimed that on reaching Dhaka, he met one Probeen, who took all his documents provided by the ISI.

STF officials said Probeen helped Eizaz cross the border and introduced him to Mohammad Irshad — a resident of South-24 Parganas district in West Bengal. There, Irshad prepared fake documents for Eizaz using Kalam’s name with the help of his relative Jahangeer, a resident of Kolkata. The documents prepared there included a voter ID card, a junior high school certificate and ration card.

“While staying in Kolkata, Eizaz came in contact with one Rahees, who introduced him to one Asma — a resident of Arrah district in Bihar. In Kolkata, Eizaz was into photography and videography business with Rahees,” said an official.

He added that in October, 2014, Eizaz married Asma. He stayed with her for two months and later shifted to Bareilly in December, 2014. In Bareilly, Eizaz used to stay as Kalam. He again started again doing photography and videography and through a local, Eizaz arranged a fake Aadhaar card with Kalam’s name and a Bareilly address.

“While staying in Bareilly, Eizaz collected information about the movement of troops stationed in Bareilly and Uttarakhand. He also shot video of emergency landing of Mirage fighter jet of the Air Force on the Agra-Yamuna Expressway,” said an official.
An FIR against Eizaz has been registered at Sadar Bazar police station in Meerut.