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

Monday, August 14, 2017

11761 - No Aadhaar, no RIP - The Tribune



Sandeep Sinha

“Always quote a dead man so that he can’t come and contradict you,” goes the saying. With a growing tendency among the people to list the dead as their own to claim the benefits and subsidies under various schemes in their name, the government has finally decided that from October 1, Aadhaar number will be required to get a death certificate.

While it will not be mandatory as of now, the time is not far off when it will be a de rigueur as of the 82.89 crore adults in India, 82.75 crore already have an Aadhaar ID.

Not only this, the person applying for the certificate on behalf of the dead will have to submit own Aadhaar number as well. In case the Aadhaar number of the dead is not there, a certificate to this effect has to be attached.

Now, the importance of the death certificate is grossly underestimated. It is in fact one of the most important document that greatly impacts our lives. Just as pensioners have to submit a life certificate annually, and marriages have to be registered to prove that you are legally married to someone or to  obtain a passport or change the maiden name, so the death certificate has to be furnished to ensure there is no hitch in confirming the end of a person’s worldly existence.

The death certificate is required ever y where, to get the house or land transferred in one’s name and claim the deposits in bank accounts. It is not just enough to be a close kin or blood relative of the deceased. You have to prove that you are the legal heir too and that there are no rival claimants.

No-objection certificates have to be submitted from potential claimants and a family tree or genealogy (Parivarik Suchi) has to be issued by the Municipal Corporation certifying the real descendants to ward off threats of objections being filed in future. What is worse is that in the absence of nomination, the money goes to the deceased claim account of banks and then getting it becomes a long-drawn affair with lawyers being hired and guarantors and witnesses required to be produced. What everybody knows is not just enough. It has to be legally sanctified.

In the case of LPG, the connections in the name of the dead have to be surrendered. With subsidies being provided for LPG, the importance of this step cannot be under-estimated. What may be a small amount for an individual LPG owner will translate into vast sums for the government that doles out the money.  Similar is the case with other schemes like old-age pension, among others. 

Getting a death certificate issued can be an arduous task. While at many places, it is issued in a time-barred manner, at other places it may require speed money, especially if one is racing against time. With the government machinery involved in conducting elections, Census, flood and drought relief work, the staff too is busy and getting their attention requires some effort.

Normally, the hospitals or doctors issue a death certificate which is submitted at the crematorium. Then it is with the certificates from the doctor and the crematorium that one has to apply for the death certificate. The certificate is normally issued by the civic body of the city in which death takes place. So, when you go back to your own city and start the inheritance process, things tend to get stuck because the authenticity of the death certificate has to be verified and it takes time. 

In such a situation, if the dead has an Aadhaar number, it can help save time while clearly identifying the legal heir. Usually, banks mention on the cheques that the person is the legal heir of the dead after going through the required formalities to confirm the genuineness of the claim.

Making Aadhaar necessary for a death certificate will also have a bearing on crime like murders related to property and suicides. It will be a single source of ascertaining the identity of a person doing away with the need for multiple documents much like the social security number in the US.   

And dead men tell no tales. Therefore, the Aadhaar number will be needed to ferret out details to plug the gaps even as one will have gone with the eventide.