AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12153 - Aadhaar-phone linkage a nightmare

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, October 8, 2017

12153 - Aadhaar-phone linkage a nightmare - The Hindu

Aadhaar-phone linkage a nightmare

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 00:43 IST

Consumers question why private service providers insist on registering biometric details

Linking of Aadhaar numbers with various services continues to be a troubling task to the public. The latest being linking it with mobile phone numbers. In some cases, the fingerprints don’t seem to match, especially those of senior citizens.

Also, consumers are feeling uncomfortable with sharing their biometric data with private service providers. Ecologist and senior citizen Sultan Ahmed Ismail, who narrated a bitter experience at the showroom of a private service provider in Adyar, said even a complaint with their customer care did not help.

“I have linked my bank account, PAN card, family card and LPG ID with Aadhaar but I was not asked to share my fingerprints with any of these agencies, only my Aadhaar number. What right does a private agency have over my data and how safe is it with them,” he wondered, adding that the entire procedure had to be scrapped.

Fingerprint mismatch

Several senior citizens complained that the fingerprints taken to register for services did not match with those taken during Aadhaar number registration. Eighty-three old G. Ramamoorthy said some senior citizens were provided Aadhaar cards without biometric data as their fingerprints had vanished due to ageing. It was difficult to link mobile numbers without fingerprints for senior citizens.

Senior citizens like S.M. Chellaswamy, resident of Gopalapuram, expressed concern over misuse of such personal details. “It is enough that the telecom service providers seek Aadhaar number to link mobile numbers,” he said. Several people complained that they had to visit the customer care centres at least twice before their mobile numbers were linked with Aadhaar numbers due to various reasons.

V. Rajagopal of Anna Nagar West, said, “My neighbour had to visit twice the customer care office as the device failed to recognise his fingerprints. I was told the server was down twice and had to return for fear of disconnection of service.”

Misuse of data

Despite providing Aadhaar details to replace ration cards with smart cards, Mr. Rajagopal has got many details such as his name wrong in the smart card. “I am also concerned about misuse of data as I get calls seeking my personal details for mobile phone connections,” he added.

Consumer activist T. Sadagopan raised the issue of Aadhaar numbers getting linked with mobile wallets and LPG subsidy being credited to them.

“When we complained to the LPG agency, they asked us to cancel link with the bank account and connect it with such mobile wallets. I am not sure whether banks will agree to do such things,” he said.

M.R. Krishnan, deputy director of Consumers Association of India, said the demand by private mobile phone providers for fingerprints was tantamount to intrusion into the privacy of an individual. “Unfortunately, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has permitted them to do so without any proper mechanism. We will write to them asking for a review,” he said.

Official sources in the Census Department said that biometric data of close to 7.3 crore residents of Tamil Nadu had been completed so far. Aadhaar coverage was now crossing seven crore since children in the age group of 0 -5 years were also being included.

Asked about issues with finger impressions when linking Aadhaar with mobile numbers, he said that usually the best of three impressions was taken and even when that does not match, iris matching was done. If everything failed then there was always the allowance under exceptional circumstances, he said adding that in some cases the biometry had to be repeated at the Aadhaar centres.