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

Monday, October 16, 2017

12152 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 16th October 2017



Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Transactions using Aadhaar authentication rose to nearly 150 crore in September from just over 100 crore the previous month. This big ...



The Hindu
Most of us are being bombarded with SMS-es that say: “As per Govt. of India directive, it is mandatory to link Aadhaar to your mobile number”.



DailyO (blog)
That this denying of food and ration because the cards weren't connected to Aadhaar is a gross violation of the Right to Life, Food Security Act and ...



The Indian Express
The police on Sunday arrested a 19-year-old Rohingya man here on charges of illegally procuring an Aadhaar card and illegally staying in the country ...



NDTV
Aadhaar or Unique Identity Number, the 12-digit personal identity number, is now mandatory for carrying out a number of important tasks. These range ...



Livemint
Calling Aadhaar “a stroke of brilliance”, Banga said Indians tend to view credit cards as being different from digital payments when in reality they are ...






Economic Times
Only those who have valid Aadhaar card with an active Aadhaar-linked mobile number and email id can use the facility to open trading and demat ...






E-Pao.net
Imphal, October 15 2017: Government schools' students of the State who do not submit Aadhaar card will no longer be able to get mid-day meal .






The Hitavada
The Government of India had declared, about two months ago, to have animals' Aadhaar card so that any information of any animal in the country can ...






Times of India
We believe it is a great approach and we are making sure that Paytm's KYC network and process is fully biometric Aadhaar-compliant," said Renu ...






The Globalist (blog)
The Aadhaar project – India's nationwide, biometrically-supported identity card effort – was a tour de force of innovation and organization. Its purpose ...






Livemint
Will she have to get an Aadhaar and PAN? ... a specific exemption for foreign citizens on the requirement to obtain Aadhaar for income-tax return filing ...






KanglaOnline
If you have an Aadhaar card and link it with your consumer number at the local Gas agency, chances are you would have received only one or two ...






Deccan Chronicle
“He said that bank has decided to link Aadhaar cards with debit cards for better customer experience, and that his agency was taking care of it.








BGR India (blog)
Microsoft's efforts for making Skype Lite India-centric is quite noticeable with the most recent being Aadhaar integration. Skype Lite allows users in ...





Firstpost
The application is also linked to Aadhaar for added benefits. In terms of digital security, the app monitors the device for signs of suspicious activity, and ...






The New Indian Express
Of the total workers, 926 enrolled for Aadhaar. Six complaints were received in connection with their respective fields of work. A total of 389 registered ...



E-Pao.net
Replyign to the queries of the public regarding the issues of Aadhaar card and voters card, he said that Jiribam district is a State line border between ...






Economic Times
With the introduction of e-APY through Aadhaar, the banks will be able to effectively utilise the digital platform for greater coverage, it added.