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, April 3, 2016

9723 - Shot in the arm for govt as Aadhaar enrolment hits 1bn - TNN

Shot in the arm for govt as Aadhaar enrolment hits 1bn
Mahendra Singh | TNN | Apr 2, 2016, 05.52 AM IST


NEW DELHI: Aadhaar enrolments are set to hit the 1-billion mark by this weekend — a landmark achievement that could pave the way for the rollout of the Modi government's ambitious plan to expand the use of unique identification numbers to deliver subsidies and entitlements. 

Equipped with statutory backing for Aadhaar after the new law was notified on March 26, the 1-billion milestone will encourage the Centre to universalize UID usage for beneficiaries of welfare schemes which cost an estimated Rs 3.50 lakh crore a year.

The scheme to capture the biometrics of all Indian 'residents', launched with the setting up of the UID Authority in January 2009, has the potential of saving between Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 70,000 crore a year by reducing duplication and leakages, official sources said.

Aadhaar's success is expected to bolster the government's case in the Supreme Court, which has restricted the use of UID to schemes such as MGNREGA, pension disbursal, and Jan Dhan Yojana along with PDS and LPG (cooking gas) distribution. Aadhaar-linked bank accounts are expected to ensure that benefits reach people on confirmation of their identity through the UID authentication system that gives a simple "yes-no" response to a query.

Top Comment
Media, both print & Electronic, cigar chewing arm chair critics, Congress & the entire 'ghatbandandhan' fringe parties, good for nothing likes of Nayan Tara intellectuals are either blind or deaf or both, not to 'notice' a huge 'change' in national governance then we Indians don't deserve a 'clean' government. Adhar, perhaps incorrectly assessed by Modi prior to May'14, has made a course correction and has turned tables on yet another UPA half hearted initiative. Now nearly a billion Indians are 'connected to Adhar' and shall bear the fruits in coming months / years. Even its creator has publicly admitted that NDA has made a very security tight and usable platform, particularly for those who get government subsidy. The 'middle man' is the most angry (read Congress) group as they thrived under UPA umbrella. The IAS 'babus' are scared to take 'gratuity' from the end user because they were under the 'scanner', which is dubbed by the above named as a 'police state'. They have no idea what a 'police state' is. Days of Soviet Rule, Chines Rule, & Nazi Germany were a few examples. Because of ignorance the Congress & Co term today's India as 'Hitler country'. These guys are nonplussed as this government is functioning well on it's long term agenda. Not 60 years but around 5 years. We have to give NDA at least 5 years of elected term and they have to provide their 'report card' then and if they 'fail', they will have to GO and perhaps, we 'stupid Indians' will reverse the progress by, perhaps electing at 'pot purl' government and we will just have to lump it then.

Navin Mithal

Use of Aadhaar as a know-your-customer (KYC) verification is likely to make opening of bank accounts, particularly for the poor, much easier. The milestone will accelerate the Centre's financial inclusion schemes envisaged as the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity by bringing welfare programmes on the UID platform much before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The target is to enrol all eligible residents — 1.1billion — by 2016-end, paving the way to bring all welfare schemes under the Aadhaar platform.
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