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, January 2, 2018

12584 - Identity or not? The importance of being Aadhaar - Money Control

Identity or not? The importance of being Aadhaar
The 12-digit unique identity number was the talk of the town in 2017 and it will only grow further in the next year.
Moneycontrol News

@moneycontrolcom

If the BJP spread its wings across India, gaining a foothold in 19 states by December, the government agencies too made many attempts to entrench Aadhaar into the common man's life through the year.

The unique identification number gained importance quite prolifically through the year and will likely be a point of many a debate in 2018. From bank accounts to SIM cards, passports to PAN cards, many services will need to be linked to Aadhaar by March 31, 2018, as per government orders.

The government's push is based on the assumption that Aadhaar — perhaps the most detailed proof of identity issued to an Indian citizen by the government — could be used to identify and track any wrongdoing in the services.

The process of Aadhaar registration involves capturing biometrics like fingerprints and iris scan. Therefore, Aadhaar used by the person to avail services and can act as a security measure simultaneously, given that it is very difficult to duplicate.

Nowadays, Aadhaar-enabled entry to airports is being promoted around the country. Linking Aadhaar database to an airport's system quickens check-in process cutting down on long queues, not to mention does away with manual verification of a person's identity. A fingerprint scan for check-in and security verification — killing two birds with one stone, isn't it?

Also, it has now compulsory to provide Aadhaar for passport application. The government has many a time hinted at using Aadhaar as one-stop shop for ID checks, be it date of birth, address or a photo ID.

Also read: Aadhaar website makes life easier. Find out what services you can get while sitting at home

Airports are not the only ones encouraging passengers to provide their Aadhaar. Indian Railways is promoting the use of the biometric proof of identity in its own way. If the passengers provide their Aadhaar number, they can avail concessions if they face any difficulties during the journey.

In the financial services space, Aadhaar has become compulsory for a person looking to apply for a PAN card. For those who already have PAN cards, it is mandatory to link their Aadhaar with their PAN so that the tax department can keep an eye on a person's tax filings.

Even bank accounts and mutual funds have to be linked to Aadhaar by the end of March 2018. This was made compulsory with a view to keeping an eye on all financial activity to prevent incidents of money-laundering.

A similar move was made in the telecom space, where it became mandatory for all to link their SIM cards with their Aadhaar. Earlier, all one needed to do to get a SIM card was provide a local proof of address because of which a lot of people just asked local acquaintances to obtain one of them. 

The loophole made it extremely cumbersome for the government to keep track of a SIM user to determine his/her involvement in any criminal activity.

However, after Aadhaar is linked to very SIM card in the country, it would become relatively easy for the authorities to pinpoint any blip on their radar. Also, there is no limit on how many SIM cards can be linked to one Aadhaar.
Aadhaar has also evolved over the year and is now being used as a mode of cashless payment through the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS).

AEPS helps Aadhaar holders make payments by providing biometrics and/or UID number.

The 12-digit number has also become necessary for one to avail certain social services like government subsidies, gas cylinder subscriptions and midday meals, among others.
Ration card holders are required to link their Aadhaar to the card in order to avail benefits of the Public Distribution System.
All these developments came about over the last 12 months. A year ago, one could make do without an Aadhaar, but going ahead, it will likely be the most important proof of identity.
Although it was introduced quite a while back, it was not until 2017 that Aadhaar actually became what it was always intended to be.

Going by what the history books tell us, it took Franklin D Roosevelt government in the United States a while to convince Americans that the New Deal, and particularly social security, was good for them.

Today, social security continues to define life in the US and goes a long way in making sure that Americans are never found wanting for basic needs at least.

Aadhaar is a similar concept, and as some experts have pointed out, has the advantage of being conceptualized in today's day and age, and thereby addressing today's issues to a far greater extent.

It is slowly seeping into every aspect of our life. There have been discussions over linking Aadhaar with voter IDs as well but it is unclear if it is mandatory to do so.

And if one thought the government's March 31, 2018 deadline puts the furore around Aadhaar to rest, there may be one more in the offing. Facebook has confirmed that it is piloting a  service which lets new users sign-up with usernames same as that on Aadhaar.

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