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, December 5, 2017

12466 - From Canada to Mangaluru - all for his mom's Aadhaar card - Deccan Herald

From Canada to Mangaluru - all for his mom's Aadhaar card


DH News Service, Ronald Anil Fernandes, Mangaluru Dec 2 2017, 18:32 IST

File photograph of 101-year-old Gladys D'Souza with her 68-year-old son Trevor D'Souza, taken on her 100th birthday on March 30, 2017.

Sixty eight year old Trevor D'Souza, a marine engineer by profession, came down all the way from Toronto in Canada to Mangaluru just to get Aadhaar card for his 101-year-old mother Gladys D'Souza, who stays in an old age home in City.
"As I could not transfer money from my mom's account in SBI to the senior citizen's home account, which is also in the same branch of SBI (reportedly due to non-submission of KYC details), I came all the way from Canada to set right the anomalies," he told DH.

Soon afterwords, he tried his level best to get Aadhaar card for his 101 year old mother, who can not move from senior citizen's home at Pandeshwar in City.

To his dismay, he was told in the DC office that he will have to get his ailing mother to the DC office. Meanwhile, his efforts to appeal senior citizen’s helpline (1090) as well as Department of Women & Child at Urwa too was of no help, said another senior citizen I J S Shet, who accompanied Trevor to these offices.
In fact, Trevor was amused to see a list of senior citizens displayed in DC office who are in queue for the same problem.
When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar told DH that the government has recently withdrawn the facility wherein the equipment could be taken out to a particular place, specially for those who are unable to move or go to Aadhaar enrolement office.

"As of now, besides DC office and taluk office, the facility is available at 17 Naada Kacheris and Mangalore One centres," he said and added that a special Aadhaar Adalat is planned between December 4 and December 8 at Town Hall in City for those who can not go Aadhaar centres without easy access (for example staircase).

Centenarian Gladys has been living in Mangaluru since 2008, as she was not comfortable and happy in Canada and the US as the cold conditions there did not suit her life style. In fact, Trevor is worried that if he can not get Aadhaar card by this month end, he will not be able to transfer money to his mom's caretakers.

Quite interestingly, Gladys is a cancer survivor. As recently as 2015, she was diagnosed with cancer of the breast and treated at Fr Muller's hospital with the support of city's leading oncologists. Though at one stage it seemed a lost battle, the fighter of big battles that Great Grand Mother Gladys has survived and hopes to survive the Aadhaar conundrum as well, with the help of the DK district administration, before the authorities concerned delink the accounts on December 31, 2017.
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