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 23, 2018

12747 - Aadhaar articles Dated 22nd January 2018



Quartz
American whistleblower and former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden has joined the campaign against Aadhaar, India's 12-digit unique identification number programme that has been under fire for its security and privacy systems. On Sunday, Jan. 21, Snowden backed KC Verma ...



The Aadhaar opportunity - The Indian Express



Times of India
NEW DELHI: American whistleblower-in-exile Edward Snowden on Sunday called Aadhaar "an improper gate to service" and said demands to link it to various services "must be criminalised." Snowden tweeted this while sharing an online article authored by former head of Research and Analysis Wing ...




Live Law
This is the first among a series of posts where I will outline my thoughts on the arguments in the Aadhaar case. It is not my aim to predict or pre-judge the Court's conclusions; neither is it to take sides. These posts are intended as a commentary on the arguments as they develop. Senior Counsel Shyam ...






Moneycontrol.com
India's new Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat has said that he supports linking of Aadhaar with voter identity cards, according to a report by The Economic Times. Speaking about the reforms being initiated by the poll authority, Rawat said that he supports linking Aadhaar to voters' identity ...






New York Times
On the one hand, having an Aadhaar number does not in itself guarantee access to India's welfare benefits — among the least generous in the world. On the other, the need to have one and to link it to one's various accounts and benefits has prevented some Indians from obtaining state assistance.






The Hans India
Speaking to the organisers of Mee Seva and Aadhaar centres, he said that as per directions of the government, the changes should be made after verifying proper certificates only. Only 73 Aadhaar centres are working out of 103 centres in the district. Some Aadhaar centres had been issuing bogus ...






The Tribune
The police said four mobile phones were recovered from them which they had got financed on fake Aadhaar and PAN cards. The police claimed that the accused were held when they were going to sell the mobile phones at the Sector 22 mobile market at cheaper rates. All accused were sent on police ...






The Navhind Times
The government has instructed fund houses to ensure linking of Aadhaar details with existing MF folios before March 31, 2018. Following this the AMFI has asked them to freeze non-Aadhaar compliant accounts with effect from April 2018. The linking can be done online through registration and transfer ...






Daily News & Analysis
End-to-end computerisation of public distribution system saw one city of Nagpur saving more than 5,000 metric tonnes of foodgrains. After the successful pilot run of the Aadhaar-Enabled Public Distribution System (AEPDS) in Nagpur, the state government is set to replicate the project in all the districts ...






Scroll.in
Edward Snowden says he agrees with former RAW chief's concerns about Aadhaar: The American whistleblower said Aadhaar was being abused as a proxy for identity and such efforts should be criminalised. Edward Snowden says he agrees with former RAW chief's concerns about Aadhaar: The ...






Financial Express
The Centre has also created the platform for Universal Social Security in future, through the Jan Dhan programme and linking it with Aadhaar. These are good moves but they benefit only a certain class of people numbering a few lakhs. Another significant move has already been done for Employees' ...






Scroll.in
Edward Snowden says he agrees with former RAW chief's concerns about Aadhaar: The programme should be linked with voter ID cards, newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat said. Gujarat starts cow tourism project to popularise the animal: Those interested can now take a ...






Business Today
The report that identifies various big-picture trends at play this year in the domestic and global economy, noted that Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, Demonetisation, GST, are working to create a new inclusive infrastructure in India. "Given the rapid pace at which the Indian economy is developing, investors today ...






The Telegraph
They are more likely to be relatively small people who have come under the tax net because of pressure from the banks to link accounts with the Aadhaar card and the PAN card and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bringing some people in. So, it is not that fat cats were disgorging their illicit hoards ...






The Hindu
“Sonipat district has since accomplished 100% Aadhaar-based registration of newborns. The rate of institutional deliveries is also 99%. It, thus, rules out fudging of SRB figures. We also take the lead in districts providing ambulances to pregnant women,” said Mr. Pandurang. Chaudhary Jai Singh of ...






The Hindu
The application forms should have certificates of age proof, residence proof, driving licence, income, proof of employment, Aadhaar card, educational qualification, passport size photograph, community certificates for SC/ST alone, differently-abled identity card and quotation for the vehicle to be ...






The Telegraph
On the other hand, while distribution of insurance products has doubled over the last six months, some of the other products that has enabled it to grow its customer base include micro ATMs and Aadhaar-enabled payment systems. In April 2015, the RBI had granted in-principle approval to 11 applicants ...