I am 4321 7654 9872

                          

I had not enrolled for the UID/Aadhaar card until last week. This has been something that I have perhaps been pushing for like forever.Little did i realize until now,  I belonged to that rare 1% of Indian population that still evaded Adhaar enrolment. I am almost extinct!

99% of Indians Have Aadhaar

Enrolling for something that I have been pushing away for so long, and I would never have enrolled, had not my banks started sending me mails and sms reminders that my Aadhaar is not linked to my account. Also I would not be able to pay my Income taxes. They know not that I have none at the first place. The government has been pushing this program, tagging all population project years now, and it has been gradually forced upon us. I rather see it like the branding of cattle, some thing that I can directly relate thing thing to. I would be right in some way that cows are going to get UID as well in india soon. HOLY COW!!!!

Cows to get Aadhaar

                                      

Despite the Supreme court of India asking the Central Government not to make UID mandatory for transactions or government schemes, we all know how that has panned out. Off late, that is how the centre and Supreme court has been- "Say, what you may, I give no horse shit!" Whether it is the leftists, rightists, secularists, fanatics or any party of any other ideology is in power, there are few who frame the rules. Our freedom is being constrained, we are in invisible shackles, but not many realize.

                            

Why i am not a great fan of adhaar?

The reasons may be too futile a discussion for a number of people who do not consider its present implications worrisome, let alone the conseqences future be taken into consideration. For those readers, I wish you open your eyes wide.. Lol... 

What i am worried is about my privacy and my security primarily.

The Aadhar card was introduced by the Government as an optional ID card that wasn’t meant to be mandatory for all citizens. What started out as a simple identity card, turned into a card that would benefit the poor and now into a card mandatory for receiving all/any benefits from the government. Recently it was reported schools in several parts of the country, admission wouldn’t be granted to children without adhaar card and in a separate move the chief secretary of Maharashtra JK Banthia sent out a circular saying one should provide their Aadhar card number to demand information under RTI.

The writing on the wall is thus clear, the government is slowly using stealth means to make the Aadhar card mandatory for all citizens, or rather it has been successfully implemented.

Adhaar cards have now been made mandatory by the government to request for RTI (right to information act). Now this puts me in a big emotional and intellectual turmoil before I submit any RTI for some cause that is involving the rich and the powerful. When I give my aadhaar card I always will have a fear, as to if the perpetrator of the scandal or fraud comes to know that I am the one who submitted this RTI what would be the implications. If I would be threatened? If I would be harmed? If by submitting this RTI, am I going to put my family at risk? 

               As a citizen of this country and living in the present circumstances, I would think twice before I pen down an RTI for a major scandal, in view of all the above mentioned hassles.

The magnitude of danger of UID can be summarized from the amount of private data that can be accessed if your adhar database is compromised.

The following details can be accessed from your UID:

Photograph (I’m not really worried about this, as I look the most handsome in it.)

Address

Telephone number

Annual income

Bank account details

Pan card number

Income tax details

Passport number

Fingerprints

Iris scan

Government schemes you have utilized

                   Soon, I expect the remaining details like Driving license, vehicle registrations, property etc to be linked as well. So what does this serve? 

 I would not be worried if the Government has all these details of mine, for I am not a terrorist, a tax evader, a money launderer, or anything of those sorts. But I'm definitely worried about these details falling into the wrong hands, for I'm unable to foresee the hazards of the same. UID is not secure with government. Very simple fact was the issuance of Reliance Jio Sim cards just providing your adhar number alone. I had to wait a few days as I had to give other forms of identity proofs and it took time. The recent news of Adhaar data leak has been something even more alarming. Over 130 million back account details were leaked. This takes your trust in the UID, for its not secure at all. 

Aadhaar leak- Personal data breached

Aadhar data of 130 million bank accounts leaked from Govt Website

Government admits aadhar data leak

In the face of such events I, personally do not trust the UIDAI with my data security. Firms such as Ernst & Young and Accenture had raised questions about who will have access to the data, and what that means to the people of India. The questions have been raised which have not been addressed so far, including those about:

(i) Privacy: It is only now that the Department of Personnel and Training is said to be working on a draft of a privacy law, but nothing is out for discussion, 

(ii) Surveillance: This technology, and the existence of the UID number, and its working, could result in increasing the potential for surveillance,

(iv) Tracking, and

(v) Convergence, by which those with access to state power, as well as companies, could collate information about each individual with the help of the UID number.

                    

           National IDs have been abandoned in the US, Australia and the UK. The reasons have predominantly been costs and privacy. If it is too expensive for the US with a population of 308 million, and the UK with 61 million people, and Australia with 21 million people, how does Indian government justify spending over 45,000 crores for this?

            In the UK the home secretary explained that they were abandoning the

project because it would otherwise be “intrusive bullying” by the State, and that the government intended to be the “servant” of the people, and not their “master”.  People all over the world are waking up. 

So When Do We?

According to reports today,  we have till Dec 31st,2017 to link aadhaar with our bank accounts,  to avoid deactivation/freezing of bank account.  Now there's no way out of this. Let's see where we go from here...