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

Saturday, November 12, 2016

10530 - Racket thrives as officials turn blind eye to fake Aadhaar data - Deccan Herald

P M Raghunandan, October 13, 2016, Bengaluru, DHNS
45,000 bogus ration cards detected in Bengaluru alone


The racket of linking fictitious ‘Aadhaar’ numbers to generate bogus Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards has come as a shock to the state government.

Recently, the Food and Civil Supplies department had proudly announced having achieved about 98% seeding of all BPL cards with the Aadhaar number. Doubts are now being raised on the accuracy of the Aadhaar-seeded ration card data. Currently, the state has 1.05 crore BPL cards.

The state had about 1.09 crore ration cards before the exercise to link the Aadhaar numbers was taken up. Ration supplied through a BPL card carries a subsidy of Rs 800 per month on an average.

The modus operandi of the racket is simple: Invalid and fake 12-digit numbers are linked with bogus ration cards. In some cases the Aadhaar numbers of unknown persons are linked with bogus cards to make them appear as genuine Aadhaar-seeded ration cards. The Food Inspectors, who are supposed to verify authenticity of Aadhaar-seeded ration cards data, have turned a blind eye in all these cases, sources in the Food and Civil Supplies department said.

The racket came to light recently after a team of officials led by department Secretary Harsh Gupta raided some fair price shops in Bengaluru. For instance, a shop at Aruna Veerapura in Bengaluru North taluk had 708 bogus ration cards.

Surprisingly, all the 708 cards were seeded with the same Aadhaar number.
And, the Aadhaar number was of a certain Yeshpal who had obtained the franchise to distribute ration coupons to beneficiaries. Yeshpal is a relative of the fair price shop owner.

In Bengaluru alone, more than 45,000 bogus cards covering about 300 fair price shops have been found so far. Similar cases have surfaced in Mysuru, Hubbali-Dharwad, Tumakuru and other cities and towns.

A team of department officials, including the Secretary, have been working overtime verifying the data and digging out bogus ration cards. The team was working even on Wednesday despite it being a government holiday, Gupta said.

The random verification is being done only with regard to 31 lakh BPL cards existing in the limits of urban local bodies, including Bengaluru. The department has introduced the coupon system in these areas. A beneficiary has to produce ration coupon to the fair price shop owner to get the ration. The coupons can be collected either from the franchise or Bengaluru One centre.

Gupta said the department has drawn up a detailed plan to identify bogus ration cards. Directions have been issued to officials to slap criminal cases against all those found to be involved in this illegal act. Cases will be filed under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Essential Commodities Act and also the stringent Goonda Act, he added.