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, March 17, 2016

9537 - "Aadhaar shouldn't be linked to food distribution" - Governance Now

"Aadhaar shouldn't be linked to food distribution"

To curb leakages in Rajasthan, need for Aadhaar authentification and Aadhaar linked PoS devices for fair ration distribution

Pratap Vikram Singh | March 14, 2016


- See more at: http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/aadhaar-shouldnt-be-linked-food-distribution-paeg#sthash.Ew00T4hp.dpuf


Aadhaar-based disbursal of subsidised ration is opening new avenues for corruption in Rajasthan, said Nikhil Dey of People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG). Dey was speaking to journalists at a conference organised by a group of civil society organisations to discuss 2016 budget allocation to the social sector. Though the government is banking heavily on Aadhaar linked point of sale (PoS) devices for curbing leakages in food distribution network, only 20 to 40 percent of ration disbursal is being done through these devices because either the devices don’t work or the connectivity is poor, Dey said. Unable to authenticate the usage of Aadhaar, the fair price shop (FPS) dealers are manually disbursing ration, maintaining a record of the transaction in a dairy. Hence almost 60 percent of ration disbursal is being done manually, exposing the fraught distribution network to greater corruption. 

“The authentication process through Aadhaar linked PoS devices takes up to eight minutes. Long queues are being seen at FPS and many people go back as devices stop working. The situation is the same across all districts. The district magistrates tell us that the system will function optimally with better machines and connectivity,” Dey added. Under National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, states provide three kilogram of wheat and two kilogram of rice to each member of a beneficiary household. They can provide these either in kind, after doing end-to-end computerisation of the whole PDS network, or they can opt for cash transfer, where the subsidy amount is transferred in their bank account. In its report, a high level committee headed by Shanta Kumar noted that the leakages in the PDS system are as high as 50 percent in some states. He recommended phasing out manual system by cash transfer. The move would save close to Rs 30,000 crore annually in food subsidy. Lok Sabha recently passed Aadhaar Bill, which mandates UID number for receiving any subsidy, benefit or service. "Soon the disbursal of ration will only happen after Aadhaar authentication.  If the PoS devices continue to malfunction, many beneficiaries will not receive ration. That will be a huge saving for the government”, said Dey.  He demanded that Aadhaar shouldn’t be linked to food distribution. - See more at: http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/aadhaar-shouldnt-be-linked-food-distribution-paeg#sthash.Ew00T4hp.dpuf
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