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

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

13046 - Aadhaar Articles dated 21st March 2018



The Hindu
The Centre on Wednesday sought the Supreme Court's permission to allow the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for a PowerPoint presentation on Aadhaar scheme in the court to allay concerns. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, hearing a number of pleas challenging the constitutional ...






Times of India
During 19 days of arguments spanning two months since it began on January 17, senior advocates Shyam Divan, Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram, Gopal Subramanium, K V Vishwanathan, Anand Grover, Meenakshi Arora, Sajan Poovayya and C U Singh identified specific issues in the Aadhaar (Targeted ...






Economic Times
Following the Supreme Court ruling last week, the insurance regulator issued a circular yesterday asking insurance companies to extend the deadline to link Aadhaar with existing policies. Insurers (both general and life) have been asked to extend the deadline 'indefinitely' till the matter is finally heard ...






MediaNama.com
After the recent exposés by French security researcher Robert Baptiste who goes by the alias Elliot Alderson of Aadhaar related security issues and the UIDAI's consistent denials trivializing them, Baptiste predictably appears to have done what he had suggested. While he has not made a Twitter bot for ...






The Hindu
Insurance regulator IRDAI on Tuesday said the date for linking existing insurance policies to Aadhaar, in the backdrop of the Supreme Court order of March 13, is being extended till the court pronounces judgment in the case. However, for new policies, the policy holder will be allowed six months from ...






NewsClick
On the final day of the petitioner's arguments in the Aadhaar hearings, March 20, the learned Senior Counsels argued on similar grounds that had been raised earlier. However, one additional aspect was raised. This aspect pertained to the rights of children. The Senior Counsel appearing for Joshita Pai ...






SPAMfighter News (press release)
The Government of India's Aadhaar project, an ambitious identity scheme of UIDAI, holds globally the most voluminous biometric database wherein a massive 111 crore Indian citizens from the aggregate 125 crore people are presently enrolled in the program. Indeed, with Aadhaar the government ...






Times of India
MYSURU: Even death, it seems, will not part a citizen and his Aadhaar. Crematoriums in the city are asking for Aadhaar details of the deceased to conduct last rites – mandatorily so if the person is young. Crematorium authorities say it will speed up paper work for the death certificate but some families ...






Financial Express
While privacy activists have trained their guns on Aadhaar and its so-called vulnerabilities, as this newspaper has been arguing for a long time, there are far greater dangers from what firms like Facebook and Google know, about where you go, where you eat, where you travel, even what you have ...






Moneylife
In today's hearing on Aadhaar senior advocate Meenakshi Arora continued her submissions, appearing for Vickram Crishna and others. Her main contention was that one, collection, aggregation and retention of personal data on a mass scale under the Aadhaar Project is grossly disproportionate qua ...






Business Standard
Aadhaar-based payment of subsidies to khadi artisans has reduced the number of "ghost accounts" and saved the government over Rs 1.5 billion, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has said. After implementation of the Aadhar-seeded payment of the Marketing Development ...






The Quint
The 39 Indian workers who had been kidnapped in Iraq in June 2014 by the Islamic State are dead, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament on Tuesday, 20 March. The minister said that their bodies were found in a mass grave in Badush village in the northern part of that country, and ...






Business Standard
Aadhaar-based payment of subsidies to khadi artisans has reduced the number of "ghost accounts" and saved the government over Rs 150 crore, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has said. After implementation of the Aadhar-seeded payment of the Marketing Development ...






India Today
The Supreme Court was told on Tuesday that the parting of personal biometric and demographic information by transgenders and sexual minorities under the Aadhaar Act exposes them to "violence, surveillance and harassment by the State and private persons". "Once the personal demographic details ...








Firstpost
Editors note: As India stands at the cusp of a new era in economic growth, it is time to ask a big question: Can a nation of one billion people build a global tech giant as new frontiers of technology arrive? The answer involves understanding global economic dynamics, innovation, ownership, management ...






Financial Express
In a bid to encourage users to complete the e-KYC procedure for their wallets, MobiKwik has come out with an attractive scheme to get their customers going on the process. By: FE Online | New Delhi | Published: March 20, 2018 4:16 PM. 0. Shares. Share. MobiKwik has come out with an attractive ...






Free Press Journal
Mumbai: Many Mumbaikars are still getting messages from phone service providers and banks reminding them to link Aadhaar cards with various services even though there is no deadline to do so anymore. At least, not yet. Last week, the five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak ...






Deccan Chronicle
New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday sought the Supreme Court's permission to allow the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for a PowerPoint presentation on Aadhaar scheme in the court to allay concerns. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, hearing a number of pleas challenging the ...






Star of Mysore
In recent times, Aadhaar has become mandatory for many purposes. Public are facing lot of hardships and inconvenience in getting Aadhaar or updating it. For instance, at MysoreOne centre in Ramakrishnanagar, people start standing in queues from 7 am or earlier, onwards to get application, which ...