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

Thursday, November 16, 2017

12367 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 15th Nov 2017



Economic Times
The Supreme Court is presently hearing arguments on whether Indians have a right to privacy and whether Aadhaar, India's biometric identity ...






Livemint
Debate on Aadhaar and privacy has largely reached an impasse as those involved often use different definitions of data privacy. Photo: Mint.






Pune Mirror
A flurry of activity is afoot across the country, as citizens scurry to get their Aadhaar details linked to bank accounts and mobile numbers in the face of a ...



Scroll.in
Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique identification number based on biometric data, has opened up pockets of resistance in North Eastern states like ...






Outlook India
The plans were considered and approved from the point of view of security, compliance with the Aadhaar Act and protection of privacy, said UIDAI ...


Firstpost
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea challenging the linking of mobile numbers with Aadhaar, saying several similar petitions were ...



The Indian Express
Even as a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is set to hear a bunch of petitions challenging mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts ...








Moneycontrol.com
Registered doctors will use the CDMS app to generate an e-prescription which mentions the patient's name, mobile or Aadhaar number along with the ...

Zee News
The Uttar Pradesh government has made Aadhaar mandatory for board examinations in schools. All the students appearing for class 10 and class 12 ...



The Telegraph
"If Aadhaar identification is neither a proof of citizenship nor proof of domicile, why is the Centre pushing it hurriedly and illegally as if it is a valid ...






Business Today
It has now become mandatory to link your insurance policies with Aadhaar, and the deadline to do so is December 31, 2017. The move has been ...
The Facilitator - Business Today



Hindustan Times
Mandatory point-of-sale (POS) machines through which fertilisers will be sold from December 1 mandate linking of all transactions with Aadhaar ...






Business Today
When you download UMANG app, it asks you to link your Aadhaar with the app. Currently, this is optional and you can use UMANG app without ...






Connected to India (press release)
Jaitley addressed the recent advancement in digitisation of India, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Aadhaar Unique Identification ...






Multichannel Merchant (blog)
Macklin recalls encountering the Indian Aadhaar for the first time. “As we grew our company in a country like India, we recognized that there was a ...






Firstpost
The government wants all citizens to link all their activities, including mobile numbers and bank accounts, to Aadhaar so that they can be monitored ...






NewsBytes
Regarding PAN, the authorities have also mandated linking of the document to Aadhaar. The deadline is December 31. It will help check tax evasion ...






Deccan Herald
Also, Aadhaar is mandatory to avail the benefits of the pre-matric scholarship ... "In pursuance to the provision of Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted ...






Millennium Post
According to a CABE sub-committee member, who was present at the meeting, states have also been directed to ensure Aadhaar number to every ...






Outlook India
The plea said only government documents like Aadhaar card, election I-card and a valid passport for foreign nationals should be used to verify age at ...






NYOOOZ
The biometric system will recognise the beneficiary through his thumb impression, picture and Aadhaar card, while the vending machine will dispense ...






Economic Times (blog)
If one Aadhaar is enough for a person to signify his identity across the length and breadth of the country, at all levels of government, why is one tax ...






The Hindu
Then he or she has to feed personal details, including mobile number and Aadhaar number before downloading data of their particular field (GPS ...






The Hindu
One of the four persons working at the antique shop had an Aadhaar card with a Kerala address. The police said one of the four persons running the ...