Jisha Surya
January 5, 2014
Thiruvananthapuram: Governor Nikhil Kumar’s speech before the Kerala Assembly on Friday, in which he informed that 98% of the population has taken Aadhaar card, has sparked a protest. It has snowballed into ‘#ibelongtothe2percent’ campaign across social networking sites where people are engaged in heated discussion on Aadhaar, which was not properly discussed in the Parliament.
Many of them believe that Aadhaar will violate a citizen’s right to privacy and will allow corporates to access to personal information. They also believe that the ‘98%’ figure quoted by the governor was highly overrated. V K Adarsh, a banker and supporter of #ibelongtothe2percent movement said Aadhaar was not mandatory and making it compulsory for LPG subsidy is a violation of citizen rights. “First, let them pass it in Parliament and make it foolproof. Several cases of data leak have already been reported,” he said.
He also added that Aadhaar will violate the privacy of citizens, a right that is ensured in a free democracy. “With Aadhaar, government will act as a watchdog. For example, with the introduction of CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited), your entire credit history can be accessed. Similarly, Aadhaar will become a primary access point for different information regarding a person. For example, a health insurance company can access your vital information such as health history,” he said.
Journalist Sebin Jacob Abraham, another follower of #ibelongtothe2percent, said Aadhaar is an initiative launched for corporates by corporates. “First they linked Aadhaar to Census so that people would participate. Then it was linked to LPG subsidy. State is making a blanket threat to pressurize people and forcing them to take Aadhaar,” he said, adding that data like biometric IDs can be tampered with and later used as vital evidences against citizens.
IT consultant Anivar Aravind admitted that he has no plans to take Aadhaar but refused to belong to the 2% as he believes the ‘98%’figure was overrated. “I don’t think that only 2% are left. Moreover, there are cases of duplication,” he said, adding that a number of cases are pending against Aadhaar in various courts in the country.
“The project was launched without conducting a feasibility study. No proper project was launched to check its accuracy. Data collection progressed only in Kerala because we have better internet connectivity. That will not be the story in other parts of the country,” he said, adding that government is trying to widen its national surveillance instead of protecting the privacy of citizens.
Protestors believe that corporate connection to the project raises chance of data getting shared for corporate interest. They also fear misuse of metadata to target citizens.
January 5, 2014
Thiruvananthapuram: Governor Nikhil Kumar’s speech before the Kerala Assembly on Friday, in which he informed that 98% of the population has taken Aadhaar card, has sparked a protest. It has snowballed into ‘#ibelongtothe2percent’ campaign across social networking sites where people are engaged in heated discussion on Aadhaar, which was not properly discussed in the Parliament.
Many of them believe that Aadhaar will violate a citizen’s right to privacy and will allow corporates to access to personal information. They also believe that the ‘98%’ figure quoted by the governor was highly overrated. V K Adarsh, a banker and supporter of #ibelongtothe2percent movement said Aadhaar was not mandatory and making it compulsory for LPG subsidy is a violation of citizen rights. “First, let them pass it in Parliament and make it foolproof. Several cases of data leak have already been reported,” he said.
He also added that Aadhaar will violate the privacy of citizens, a right that is ensured in a free democracy. “With Aadhaar, government will act as a watchdog. For example, with the introduction of CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited), your entire credit history can be accessed. Similarly, Aadhaar will become a primary access point for different information regarding a person. For example, a health insurance company can access your vital information such as health history,” he said.
Journalist Sebin Jacob Abraham, another follower of #ibelongtothe2percent, said Aadhaar is an initiative launched for corporates by corporates. “First they linked Aadhaar to Census so that people would participate. Then it was linked to LPG subsidy. State is making a blanket threat to pressurize people and forcing them to take Aadhaar,” he said, adding that data like biometric IDs can be tampered with and later used as vital evidences against citizens.
IT consultant Anivar Aravind admitted that he has no plans to take Aadhaar but refused to belong to the 2% as he believes the ‘98%’figure was overrated. “I don’t think that only 2% are left. Moreover, there are cases of duplication,” he said, adding that a number of cases are pending against Aadhaar in various courts in the country.
“The project was launched without conducting a feasibility study. No proper project was launched to check its accuracy. Data collection progressed only in Kerala because we have better internet connectivity. That will not be the story in other parts of the country,” he said, adding that government is trying to widen its national surveillance instead of protecting the privacy of citizens.
Protestors believe that corporate connection to the project raises chance of data getting shared for corporate interest. They also fear misuse of metadata to target citizens.
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