AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 9461 - Aadhaar – A transparent tool for all

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

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

9461 - Aadhaar – A transparent tool for all - Forbes India Blog

BLOGS/

Ramblings of an Accidental Investor

Luis Miranda

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Aadhaar – A transparent tool for all

03/08/2016 | 3 comments | 675 views

The multiple uses of Aadhaar include social security schemes (like public distribution systems, NREGA), subsidy delivery, government services (like passport and land titles), e-KYC (to open bank accounts) and voting. (Image: Mansi Thapliyal / Reuters)

Let’s hope that Parliament actually works this session and that petty politics does not derail the efficient operation of our democracy yet again. One of the important pieces of legislation that cuts across party lines was tabled a few days back – the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016.

Aadhaar was the historic innovation brought in by the previous UPA government and steered by Nandan Nilekani, the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and a co-founder of Infosys. The BJP initially criticised it and there were fears that Narendra Modi would scrap it after becoming prime minister. But in a remarkable turnaround, after a meeting in July 2014 with Nilekani, Modi became a big champion of Aadhaar and is making it a key pillar of his reforms agenda. The introduction of this bill is a big step towards catapulting India forward in the digital era, dramatically improving the efficiency of public delivery systems and reducing corruption and black money. The Aadhaar project is the world’s largest national identification project and the way it has been rolled out is something that all Indians should be proud of. At the end of February 2016, 980 million numbers had been issued – something that most people said would be impossible in a little over five years.

There have been a few of concerns about Aadhaar, mainly related to privacy and citizenship. The Aadhaar Bill does not make Aadhaar a proof of citizenship or domicile. It is only a unique 12-digit number that each resident in India can use, which contains biometric and demographic data stored in a centralised database.

And the bill is strong on privacy. It limits the use of information to the purpose for which the user has given consent. Users can access their own information and rectify it. No demographic or identity information can be displayed publicly. The system cannot collect data beyond essential details like name, address, date of birth, sex, email address and phone number. It cannot collect details on race, caste or religion. There are stringent restrictions on how the information can be accessed and used for national security reasons. Finally, there are stringent penalties, including imprisonment, for breach of privacy.

The Aadhaar number helps in delivering a host of services and products in a seamless manner, starting off with Direct Benefit Transfers. The savings from this itself will more than cover the cost of the project. As Nilekani and Viral Shah outlined in their book, ‘Rebooting India’, the multiple uses of Aadhaar include social security schemes (like public distribution systems, NREGA and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan), subsidy delivery, government services (like passport and land titles), e-KYC (to open bank accounts), voting and biometric attendance systems. This bill gives a statutory framework to make all of this happen.

Who doesn’t want Aadhaar? Those who fear automation. Those who profit from the inefficiencies in the current system. Those who have something to hide. Those who fear losing power. Those who fear change. These people will fight hard against the higher level of transparency and efficiency that Aadhaar will bring in.

It is important that we support this bill and ensure that it becomes law.

Tags: Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfers, India, Nandan Nilekani, Rebooting India, UIDAI, Viral Shah