ASHUTOSH M SHUKLA | Updated: Aug 25, 2017, 07:40 AM IST, DNA
Zaiwalas say they would rather forego benefits to keep their information intact
Not enrolling for Aadhaar was a matter of principle for the Zaiwala family, and now their stance has been bolstered by the Supreme Court . On Thursday, when the nine-member SC bench ruled that privacy is an intrinsic fundamental right, Khushru Zaiwala, the 74-year-old patriarch who decided against securing unique numeric identifiers for his family felt a sense of vindication.
"I think this will go down as the second-best decision in the history of India when it comes to constitutional rights. The first was in the Kesavan and Bharati case. It has saved our Constitution," said Zaiwala, who resides at Mumbai's upscale Hughes Road with his wife and son. Like him, his son Rayomand, too, is a lawyer at the high court. His wife was an executive and is now a homemaker.
"We cannot allow Big Brother to know what we do. They have been asking for Aadhaar for everything from birth certificate to death certificate to even sonography," said Zaiwala, who asked his son to rend the Aadhaar form he got for him.
Rayomand said: "Since he is a senior citizen, they were allowing him to get it done on priority, but he instead asked us to tear it apart." Rayomand could not open an additional bank account or file his tax returns, nor could he avail of the Jio free-data offers.
"We decided we would pay a fine for late filing of I-T returns but not get Aadhaar cards. My parents who are eligible for subsidies and schemes for seniors are willing to pay extra," said Rayomand.
But what if the SC ruling had gone another way? "We would still have resisted unless they made it a criminal offence," said Zaiwala.
"And if they had done that, India would have been the laughing stock of the world. Nowhere in the West is privacy being compromised," said Rayomand, adding that their position on the issue is a peaceful resistance to state control.
"Liberty and liberal democracy is serious business. If Congress got Aadhaar to legalise Bangladeshi voters, this government insisted making it mandatory to turn India into a police state. Why should anyone know which hotel I am staying at or where I am going?" said Rayomand.
Zaiwalas say they would rather forego benefits to keep their information intact
Not enrolling for Aadhaar was a matter of principle for the Zaiwala family, and now their stance has been bolstered by the Supreme Court . On Thursday, when the nine-member SC bench ruled that privacy is an intrinsic fundamental right, Khushru Zaiwala, the 74-year-old patriarch who decided against securing unique numeric identifiers for his family felt a sense of vindication.
"I think this will go down as the second-best decision in the history of India when it comes to constitutional rights. The first was in the Kesavan and Bharati case. It has saved our Constitution," said Zaiwala, who resides at Mumbai's upscale Hughes Road with his wife and son. Like him, his son Rayomand, too, is a lawyer at the high court. His wife was an executive and is now a homemaker.
"We cannot allow Big Brother to know what we do. They have been asking for Aadhaar for everything from birth certificate to death certificate to even sonography," said Zaiwala, who asked his son to rend the Aadhaar form he got for him.
Rayomand said: "Since he is a senior citizen, they were allowing him to get it done on priority, but he instead asked us to tear it apart." Rayomand could not open an additional bank account or file his tax returns, nor could he avail of the Jio free-data offers.
"We decided we would pay a fine for late filing of I-T returns but not get Aadhaar cards. My parents who are eligible for subsidies and schemes for seniors are willing to pay extra," said Rayomand.
But what if the SC ruling had gone another way? "We would still have resisted unless they made it a criminal offence," said Zaiwala.
"And if they had done that, India would have been the laughing stock of the world. Nowhere in the West is privacy being compromised," said Rayomand, adding that their position on the issue is a peaceful resistance to state control.
"Liberty and liberal democracy is serious business. If Congress got Aadhaar to legalise Bangladeshi voters, this government insisted making it mandatory to turn India into a police state. Why should anyone know which hotel I am staying at or where I am going?" said Rayomand.
