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, May 5, 2019

14126 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 5th May 2019


Aadhaar Card: UIDAI Warns People to Not Use Public Computer For Downloading, Use Official ...
India.com News
New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) recently warned people of using a public computer for downloading Aadhaar. “Aadhaar ...

Missing: a sound data protection law
Deccan Herald
Additionally, in the Aadhaar judgement (K S Puttaswamy–II) (2018), Justice Chandrachud had emphasized on a stronger data protection regime for ...

Turbocharging India's Digital Economy
Project Syndicate
Aadhaar has thus helped to propel the development of many other digital services. About 80% of Indians now have digital bank accounts, with the vast ...

Against crony capitalism, not corporates: Rahul Gandhi
Economic Times
Further, Gandhi accused the government of using Aadhaar for surveillance. “We view the instrument as something that liberates India, that helps India ...

As rent and lease agreements go digital, long-distance is in
Hindustan Times
Once the device and the laptop were in sync, his thumb impression was taken with the biometric device and as it matched his Aadhaar details, the ...

Jamshedpur: Abject deprivation of Sabars, a PVTG, finds no place in poll discussions
COUNTERVIEW
In the four villages that were visited, at least 45 of 106 families are not enrolled in the pension scheme. Several of them also do not have Aadhaar (for ...

Top 10 stories of the week: April 29th to 5th May 2019
MediaNama.com
BJP rep files PIL seeking to link social media accounts with Aadhaar ... the feasibility of linking Aadhaar with social media accounts to curb fake news, ...

Roof-top solar plant inaugurated
The Hindu
Rear Admiral Sanjay Misra, Director General of Naval Armament Inspection (DGNAI), inaugurated a complete roof-top solar power plant at the Naval ...

India Post Payments Bank sees customer base swell
The Hindu
Those who do not have post office accounts can open an IPPB account by giving their Aadhaar card number and mobile phone number at the post ...

Jharkhand: Opposition parties promise changes in land acquisition law, BJP silent
Yahoo News
The Jharkhand government's decision to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory had reportedly led to denial of grain entitlements and pensions to many ..

NEET 2019: Dress Code, Guidelines – important instructions issued by NTA
Newsd.in
... a valid photo ID proof in original, such as (PAN card/ Driving License/ Voter ID/ Passport/ Aadhaar Card (With photograph)/E-Aadhaar/Ration Card).

NEET 2019 Dress Code and Important Instructions; NTA to Go Ahead Conducting NEET on 5 May
AglaSem News
The ID Cards issued by Schools/ Colleges/ Universities/ Coaching Centres, AADHAR enrollment receipt without Aadhaar Number, and Photocopies or ...

Starvation deaths in Andhra: Two children die after eating mud for food
Yahoo News
But the RDO insists that only two of the children do not have Aadhaar cards, and the rest of the children, including Santhosh and Vennela, had access ...

Congress doesn't take credit for the blood of our soldiers, says Rahul Gandhi
Economic Times
We view the instrument (Aadhaar) as something that liberates India, that helps India flower. The Prime Minister views Aadhaar as something that ...

Why Jharkhand's Pathalgarhi villages plan to vote in fight for autonomy
Times of India
Pathalgarhis erected in 2018 have stuck to Hindi, declaring “India Non Judicial” and dismissing voter cards and Aadhaar cards as “anti-Adivasi” ...

Don't know about you, but EVM has my vote
Free Press Journal
Obviously, Mr Sharma was standing behind Mrs Sharma, holding on to what he thought was his Aadhaarcard, but which in fact, turned out to be Mrs ...