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

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

11680 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 31st July 2017



The Indian Express
AN IIT-KHARAGPUR graduate accused of accessing the central identities data repository of Aadhaar scheme without authorisation through an online ...



The Indian Express
So far, 42 per cent of the beneficiary farmers having an Aadhaar number have been linked with the scheme,” UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap ...






Livemint
The ambiguous stance of the UIDAI, which runs Aadhaar, and the government as a whole, on privacy issues over collection of biometric data, has not ...






The Indian Express
According to a complaint, the hospital management approached police at 2.26 pm on July 27, following which, police came to the hospital and advised ...






The Indian Express
Mail comprised magazines, calendars and 2,000 Aadhaar Cards: 14,000 ... magazines, calendars and at least 2,000 Aadhaar Cards dating back to ...






Times of India
NAGPUR: The central government has linked Aadhaar — the 12-digit unique biometric identification number — with almost all services especially with ...






Deccan Chronicle
Mumbai: When the government made linking of Aadhaar with PAN a mandatory exercise for all holders of these cards, it was seen as yet another ...



The Indian Express
... decide whether there is a fundamental right to privacy protected under the Constitution in the specific context of the Aadhaar case, privacy has many ...
Opposite view - Business Standard



Times of India
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched an Aadhaar-based instant forex remittance solution in partnership with Avenues India — a fintech ...






The Ken (subscription)
With security and privacy pulling it to one side, and scale and utility to the other, Aadhaar will continue to remain conflicted. And from that conflict, ...



BGR India
As per the DoT (Department of Telecommunication) instructions, BSNL has started linking mobile numbers of its customers with their Aadhaar ...








PBS NewsHour
Ajay Bushan Pandey heads “Aadhaar,” the agency running the identification program. AJAY BUSHAN PANDEY: We have now reached the figure of ...





The New Indian Express
We will not be able to disburse the pension amount if the pensioner failed to link Aadhaar with pension account. The process for Aadhaar linkage has ...






Scroll.in
The Aadhaar was started for direct benefit transfer, why does it need biometric information? It seems that right to privacy is being questioned. – Martin ...






Hindu Business Line
Though a deadline for linking Aadhaar and PAN has not been specified, eleventh-hour tax return filers must keep in mind that income tax returns ...






Times of India
We don't have access to the Aadhaar database and are unable to help. But reports ... As of now, it is mandatory to link Aadhaar with PAN to file ITR.".






Nagaland Post
While welcoming the concern shown by KTDSSU and PACSU to establish and strengthen the democratic processes by linking Aadhaar with electoral ...






Times of India
The study pointed out that since the government was pushing Aadhaar-based financial transactions, securing the Aadhaar database against ...






Oherald
The "official" asked the senior citizen to reveal his Aadhaar card number telling him that it had to be linked to his ATM Card and if not provided, his card ...






Morung Express
While welcoming the concern shown to establish and strengthen the democratic processes by linking Aadhaar with Electoral Roll for a clean election, ...






BW Businessworld
The India Stack (for UPI, Banking, Aadhaar) is coming into play to help capture this data. You will be able to identify the same customer across various ...






Times of India
As many as 20 counters of Akshaya Kendras were opened to receive applications for Aadhaar cards from workers who have address proof such as ...



Economic Times
This year, the government has made it mandatory to link the Aadhaar ... have been put in a spot due to the mandatory linking of Aadhaar and PAN.






Times of India
Leaving aside the primary job, the teachers are engaged in works such as helping the students in opening the accounts, getting their aadhaar ...






Times Now
With the central government pushing for Aadhaar linkage on financial transactions, the report highlighted that Aadhaar database must be secured ...