13535 - Rethink Aadhaar campaign update on the UID hearing in the Supreme Court

	Rethink Aadhaar campaign update on the UID hearing in the Supreme Court
	Mon, 14 May 2018 20:25:17 +0530
	Rethink Aadhaar #No2UID

The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench concluded its final hearings of the matters challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar project on Thursday, May 10, and reserved its judgment. Reservation of judgment is routine and means that the bench will take some time to give its final judgment. We expect the judgment sometime around July - August, after the Supreme Court’s summer recess. In the more than four-month long final hearings of the Aadhaar matters by the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench, the petitioner’s lawyers covered the many criticisms of the Aadhaar project. Documents and submissions submitted in Court can be found here and present a repository of valuable, historic documents.

This past year, conversation around the Unique Identification (UID) or Aadhaar has grown significantly largely because the government coercively pushed Aadhaar into every aspect of residents’ lives. Partly in response, people began engaging with concerted social and mass media campaigns, live tweeting of court proceedings, and academic research and writing about the project.

In 2016, some of us came together to formulate a response to the Aadhaar onslaught and attempted to organise resources to challenge Aadhaar. We also worked to raise awareness and developed resources to help others understand - and critique - the project. We thought we would be focused on both “welfare and privacy” - two worlds that did not seem particularly connected until the UID project attacked our rights in both spheres. Some of us loosely began calling for “Rethink Aadhaar” (or “no2UID”). Since then we have supported public hearings, conducted signature campaigns, and had conversations on Aadhaar in public places including outside the UIDAI regional office in New Delhi, and at India Gate. During this time of campaigning, most significantly, the Supreme Court affirmed our fundamental right to privacy. In this time we also became a proxy grievance redressal centre for UIDAI with people calling us from across the country to help them with filing taxes, getting mobile phone connections, scholarships etc. without Aadhaar!

For many of us, the destruction of welfare accompanied by bogus claims of savings deserved criticism and called for a rethinking of the UID project. In Court and outside, the response of the State has been that welfare is a burden not a responsibility on the State, and the barter of our fundamental right to privacy is an inevitable part of the social contract. We have fought against this (mis)conception of welfare, and our own understanding of the idea of privacy and its intrinsic link to liberty and freedom has expanded and deepened.

The Aadhaar project has needed welfare schemes to spread itself, and welfare suffers because of it. Having made Aadhaar mandatory to access any government service or entitlement, the State has managed to get Aadhaar numbers seeded into every database creating a gold mine of data that can potentially enable 360º surveillance. We have been told, “Data is the new oil”. In the age of Cambridge Analytica and breaches in the famed Social Security Number (SSN) database in the US, it is clear that no database, whether maintained privately or by government, is truly secure. That a data protection regime is being created in India in a secretive, opaque manner with the active participation of Aadhaar officials only compounds matter further. 

Attempting to build a campaign - working on regular updates, collating information from an ever-larger number of sources, and reaching out to more people and wider audiences - with few resources and limited support has been difficult. We have had many ideas to which we have been simply unable to give time and physical energy. There have been mistakes and shortcomings along the way. 

Much of our campaigning has been galvanised by the ongoing court cases. In many ways the final hearing and waiting for the judgment in the Aadhaar matters is also an important juncture in this nascent campaign. We might wake up one morning and find that the judgment has come and in the dead of night the UID database was deleted with this government saying that it had itself asked for deletion of the database and it was all a Congress project anyway. Or, we might have to live with it, with the Supreme Court allowing the government to force citizens to trade their privacy and dignity for basic, Constitutionally-assured necessities such as food, education and livelihood. 

Whatever the verdict of the Supreme Court, this will not be the end of our legal battles and our struggles and campaigns outside court. 

For us we have learned, that we must never forget that the State loves power over its citizens, that there are many excuses given for the need and desire for power: care, good governance, genuine concern, efficiency, etc. Power can be exerted in many forms in the digital age - mass surveillance, phone tapping, database creation; the all-powerful Aadhaar project. In its attempts to justify its power, the State can and does forget its limitations and the inviolable rights of individuals and collectives. Rights are not given to us by the benevolence of a ruler, but they are fought for and are won by all of us working tirelessly together. We had won the fundamental right to privacy. Someday we will Destroy Aadhaar. 

If we do have to live with the UID project in some form, we want to think about the institutions and strategies through which we can continue to critique Aadhaar. We would also hope more people can join us and contribute time, or effort towards helping this campaign grow. 

One suggestion we are considering is to register ourselves as a formal trust through which we can fundraise and seek contributions. These funds could support campaigners to be involved full-time, or for interns and other supporters to join us on an as-needed basis. 

The last line of Justice Kaul’s opinion in the Right to Privacy judgment reads: “the old order changeth, yielding place to new.” Whatever, the outcome of the Aadhaar judgment - we live in a new order.

We will keep fighting.

Thank you for subscribing and supporting us.

No2UID! 

Rethink Aadhaar Team

-- 

Rethink Aadhaar Campaign

rethinkaadhaar.in

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12735 - ‘Aadhaar unconstitutional, flawed by design’ - The Hindu

‘Aadhaar unconstitutional, flawed by design’

Ajeet Mahale

MUMBAI, JANUARY 13, 2018 00:40 IST

A visually impaired man narrates the ordeal he had to undergo while trying to obtain an Aadhaar card.  

Activists to launch national campaign to ensure Aadhaar is not made mandatory

Independent activists came together under the banner of Rethink Aadhaar on Friday demanding that Aadhaar not be made mandatory for the entitlement of any service.

The activists, who met at the Mumbai Press Club, also claimed that enrolment and production of a unique number must be made strictly voluntary.

Raghu Godavarthi, one of the conveners of the meeting, said the event was part of a national programme and similar groups were being formed in Delhi and Bangalore. Mr. Godavarthi said, “Our goal is to expose the flaws in the Aadhaar project in the lead up to the Supreme Court hearing scheduled for January 17.”

The speakers included the first petitioners in the case: Vickram Crishna, Dr. G. Nagarjuna and Kamayani Bali Mahabal. They highlighted issues such as the denial of basic entitlements and services, coercive tactics to ensure enrolment, technological issues with the project. The project has been riddled with problems in fingerprint and retinal scans, security of data, potential for surveillance and the lack of transparency and grievance redress system.

“Aadhaar is entering its ninth year and yet it is being called a project that is in its infancy,” said Mr. Godavarthi. He added that media and citizens have not been very successful in tracking Aadhaar’s failure. “We feel that Aadhaar in its current form is unconstitutional and flawed by design. The problems linked to the programme have expanded with its expansion.”

Activist Dr. Nagarjuna said the core issue is the centralisation of power, which goes against the idea of democracy. He said, “It is very important to fight together against this crime that is being committed under the name of social justice. It is all a lie. There is potential for a leakage in information every time we link it some agency.”

Ms. Kamayani Mahabal, who filed a petition in the Supreme Court, said, “The gender biases within the system came out only after I filed the petition. There have been several instances where women have been denied family planning options, as they did not posses an Aadhaar card. Linking of services to the project has been criticised by all.”

Welfare researcher Sakina Dhorajiwala narrated three cases from Jharkhand where people had starved to death as they were denied rations because their Aadhaar card was not linked to the Public Distribution System.

Krishnakant Mane, who is visually impaired, said, “My impairment is due to a faulty retina and hence I have been denied an Aadhaar card.” He said people with disabilities faced difficulties in obtaining an Aadhaar card.

Mr. Mane said, “I have seen cases where people who have been affected by leprosy have been denied a card as their fingerprints could not be read. Are they not eligible for such public services?”

11993 - Educationists on why linking Aadhaar in schools is a terrible idea- Catch News

Educationists on why linking Aadhaar in schools is a terrible idea

PRIYATA BRAJABASI

| Updated on: 5 September 2017, 16:35 IST

After facing huge embarrassment in the hands of two consecutive toppers’ scam in two years, the Bihar School Education Board (BSEB) has made Aadhaar mandatory for filling up forms for matriculation and intermediate examinations from the year 2018.

However, from 2019, Aadhaar number will be mandatory in all examinations conducted by the BSEB for all classes; identity cards will become inadmissible.

Earlier this year, the results of intermediate (arts) led to a row after it was detected that topper Ganesh Kumar, alias Ganesh Ram, fudged his age to take the exam a second time from Sanjay Gandhi Vidyalay, Lakshminia in Samastipur.

He showed his date of birth as June 2, 1993. Later, it was found that his actual date of birth when he took the matriculation exam for the first time was November 7, 1975 and he appeared from a school in Jharkhand. He later got into Ramnandan Singh Jagdip Narayan Intermediate College, from where he topped in Intermediate Arts.

However, linking Aadhaar to school examinations to stop cases of fraud may not be the way to go.

There are many issues that the children enrolling for Aadhaar might face. For instance, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) recognises that the fingerprints of a growing child aren’t completely formed till the age of 14-15 years. The students appearing for matriculation examinations are usually 14-15 years of age. And once BSEB makes Aadhaar for all classes, many glitches in identification might begin to surface.

Right To Education National Convenor Ambarish Rai believes that basic amenities should be kept out of the ambit of Aadhaar. He told Catch, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that basic amenities should not be linked with Aadhaar. Education is a basic amenity. If Aadhaar is made mandatory for education as well, then many children who do not have Aadhaar will not be able to avail benefits of education. They will be deprived. In a state like Bihar, the percentage of population that has an Aadhaar is one of the lowest.

“In order to avoid cases of fraud, the state should strengthen its school administration system. How can you not discriminate between genuine children who do not have Aadhaar and the ones who are indulge in fudging and forgery of documents and other such means?

“As the justice system says, it is okay for a guilty person to walk free but an innocent person must never be convicted. It is the same case here. An innocent child who does not have access to Aadhar must not be deprived of an education,” he added.

Praavita, a member of Rethink Aadhaar campaign, told Catch: 

“The system of Aadhaar by design excludes. They are many ways in which it is already proved that this system fails. In many cases that we are following, in the public distribution system, in mid-day meal schemes, there are instances of fraud in spite of Aadhaar being in place.

“There is enough evidence that Aadhaar’s supposed uniqueness to the identity does not stop fraud. What is does in practice is exclude people. It will make more and more difficult for children in very vulnerable positions to get an education or to pass matriculation.”

Praavita added: “Aadhaar card will not prevent forgeries or fraud, you can get a fake Aadhaar card made for Rs 35 in Maharashtra. In Rajasthan, a dealer had seeded his Aadhaar card with dozens of other people, so he was able to collect grains for all of them.

“It is ridiculous that the government continues to use this as a method to prevent fraud when across the country we have evidence of how Aadhaar is being misused.”

The CBSE has also made the Aadhaar card mandatory for all students taking JEE and NEET exams.

However, CBSE has not made Aadhaar mandatory for its school examinations as of now. Many other states may soon make Aadhaar mandatory for school examinations too.

Edited by Joyjeet Das

First published: 4 September 2017, 23:55 IS

11893 - Aadhaar activists rejoice after SC's Right to Privacy verdict - Money Control

Aug 25, 2017 09:42 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

Aadhaar activists rejoice after SC's Right to Privacy verdict

One activist called the judgement an 'existential threat' to the foundations of the Aadhaar project.

Ankita Bose

Moneycontrol News

The Supreme Court verdict upholding Right to Privacy came as welcome news to Aadhaar activists, who have been striving to nix the Centre's efforts to link the 12-digit identification number to social benefit schemes, subsidies and other benefits.

RethinkAdhaar.in, a campaign actively involved in challenging the multifaceted implications of the Aadhaar project in India is celebrating the verdict which upheld that Right to Privacy is a fundamental right in the Constitution of India.

RethinkAadhaar features extensive work done in the remote areas of Rajasthan which documents rural people encountering several problems in receiving social benefit schemes, subsidies, and pensions linked to their Aadhaar number.

As it eagerly waited for the nine-judge bench to deliver its verdict on the right to privacy hearing, it expressed its happiness once the historic judgement came out.

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We welcome the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right #No2UID #AadhaarNahiSudhaar

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Praavita, one of the key members of the RethinkAadhaar initiative, told Moneycontrol that the verdict will put greater pressure on the Aadhaar project to prove its legitimacy and lawfulness. "This judgment is an existential threat to the foundations of the Aadhaar project. Now that the 9 judge bench has decided that privacy is a fundamental right, the Aadhaar hearings can now resume. We hope for an early hearing," she said.

She added: "The Centre can do what it wants to do. The Supreme Court has now drawn a line in the sand, a Lakshman Rekha. Everything will be tested on the anvil of the fundamental right to privacy."

She added: "We plan to continue raising awareness on the multiple shortcomings of Aadhaar and its coercive, anti-privacy nature. We also plan to launch a campaign calling for the delinking of Aadhaar from the multiple programmes."

Praavita, who calls herself a feminist, was also confident that the judgement will prove to be beneficial for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) rights activists in decriminalising homosexuality and battling Article 377 of the Indian Constitution.

"For me, the right to privacy is the heart of dignity and democracy. It means the right to be free from constant surveillance, it means that the state does not have unfettered powers over my life, and I have the freedom to dissent. Privacy to me is important as a feminist and an activist," she said.

11116 - Over to Supreme Court - Deccan herald

Over to Supreme Court

By Praavita, Apr 24 2017, 0:41 IST

On April 11, 2017, the Aadhaar debate entered Parliament and, for what appeared to be the first time in a long time, the Opposition took to the floor and rallied for the people of India. Members from across party lines got engaged in a heated discussion on the pitfalls of the Aadhaar (Unique Identification or UID) project. The hard facts presented and the damning indictment of the project were shrugged off by Minister for Information Technology Ravishankar Prasad, like water off a duck’s back.

Concerns raised included the verification of the UID database, UID being mandatory for welfare entitlements, privacy concerns, the legality of, and liability relating to the project. The UID project has multiple weaknesses. Aadhaar was marketed as being a foolproof ID based on biometrics, what is discussed less is that no physical verification is carried out by any authority of any documents submitted at the time of enrolment. Thus you have incidents of Pakistani spies, the god Hanuman, and coriander plants getting Aadhaar numbers. 

Before the Aadhaar Act was passed in 2016, over 100 crore people had been enrolled without any form of verification being carried out. Rajeev Chandrashekhar, MP, asked about verification and pointed out that the only time the database was scrutinised was by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance which concluded that the UID database was ineffective even for directing subsidies. He reminded us that the RS Leader of the House conceded that privacy is a fundamental right, even without the Supreme Court saying so.

The IT minister’s response to concerns of privacy and surveillance was that the UID database was a “marvel of technology” and could not be breached. Who knows whether the UID database can be breached? Even the Pentagon was breached. What we have, without speculation, are instances of third parties, including government agencies, leaking vast amounts of data online. 

Assurances aside, the minister failed to answer Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien’s concern on the leak of the information of 14 lakh minors. O’Brien pointed out that there was no regulation on third parties with access to the UID database. The UIDAI itself blacklisted 34,000 operators since 2010 for “polluting” the database. On April 19, 2017, UIDAI filed FIRs against eight websites for illegally collecting Aadhaar numbers and enrolment details from people.

Incredibly, Section 47 (1) of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 states that, “No court shall take cognisance of any offence punishable under this Act, save on a complaint made by the Authority or any officer or person authorised by it.” Thus, only the UIDAI and no one else can complain of offences under the Act. When asked who would be accountable for Aadhaar failures, the IT minister responded “Aadhaar works under the IT ministry, I am accountable to parliament and they (UIDAI) are accountable to the parliament through us.” 

Several MPs discussed exclusion caused by the linking of Aadhaar to welfare entitlements. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh cited the example of Rajasthan where seven lakh pensioners were removed from the list of beneficiaries after Aadhaar linking. Eminent lawyer and parliamentarian K T S Tulsi said that he had never seen as poor statutory framing in his life as in the Aadhaar Act. The CPI’s D Raja was concerned about denial of en­titlements due to various failures of Aadhaar.

In the public distribution system, the exclusion rate in Rajasthan was 25%, according to government figures. That is, 25 lakh people had not got rations since Aadhaar-based biometric authentication was made mandatory. In Bhim block, (Rajsamand district) almost 1,500 out of 3,000 elderly whose names were cut after being declared “dead” or “duplicates”, were found to be alive and were restored to their pensions. The IT minister claim­ed that Aadhaar led to savings. He quoted figures that have been repeatedly debunked, including by the CAG. He called the CAG report “judgemental” and cited the World Bank and UNDP reports in support of the project. The World Bank’s figures have also been rebutted. 

The World Development Report 2016 states, “This (LPG) is just one of many subsidy programmes in India that are being converted to direct transfers using digital ID, potentially saving over US$11 billion per year in government expenditures through reduced leakage and efficiency gains.” 

Hollow promises?

In fact, the source of this $11 billion estimates states that “The value of these transfers (NREGA, pensions etc) is estimated to be Rs 70,000 crore ($11.3 billion) per annum." Thus, for the World Bank, ‘potential savings’ refers to the entire social welfare budget.

Promises made to the people on the floor of the House are worth as much as cobwebs and moonshine when the minister can boldly stand and state: “I want to make it very clear on behalf of the government that no poor shall be denied his subsidy rights at all…we are only saying, you also come on Aadhaar. But no denial shall be there.” 

What is the minister’s word worth? No notification making possession of an Aadhaar number mandatory for any service has been withdrawn so far. What we have instead are deadlines for enrolment and the poor being denied their entitlements. The minister made many claims, including stating that the Aadhaar database will not be linked to the intelligence database of the NATGRID. But again, there is no law to stop this, and no notification, nothing more than the minister’s word. 

No concrete steps or plans to keep Aadhaar truly voluntary have been made or given. The mad dash for Aadhaar continues as pensioners, ration cardholders and NREGA workers are pushed further into destitution and vulnerability, as our national security is made vulnerable, and we are left to the mercy of an all-seeing surveillance state. 

The Supreme Court must intervene. Until then we are told to just believe the words of the minister for IT that “the Aadhaar is robust. Aadhaar is safe. Aadhaar is secure, and totally accountable.”

(The writer is with Rethink Aadhaar Campaign)