Adhaar Card: The Nightmare for Indians
Have you been lately tormented via text messages and other notifications about linking your Adhaar to your phone number or bank account?
And because of that, have you been in a hurry to apply for an Adhaar as you fear that your bank account, phone number, PAN card or any other online e-wallets would be deactivated because you do not have an Adhaar number?
Well, worry not. Firstly, in a recent judgement, the Supreme Court has extended the deadline date for applying and linking your Adhaar number to these important utilities indefinitely. This was done because many flaws have emerged in this Adhaar concept. Moreover, coercing you to link these services to your Adhaar and threatening to close them down otherwise, is constitutionally wrong.
Then why did the concept of Adhaar originate?
The perception of having an Adhaar card was originated to eradicate any wrongdoing by middlemen so that subsidies and other government benefits would reach each and every needy individual. And also, the process of application was originally a voluntary task. But present day scenario tells you a very different thing altogether. Various government ads and messages are advising people to connect their Adhaar to each and every possible thing related to the person's life. They are marketing Adhaar like some magic card which will abolish every problem that Indians have been facing till date. It is also expected to ease the process of future applications like opening a bank account, applying for a passport, PAN cards and other services etc.
Then why did the concept of Adhaar originate?
The perception of having an Adhaar card was originated to eradicate any wrongdoing by middlemen so that subsidies and other government benefits would reach each and every needy individual. And also, the process of application was originally a voluntary task. But present day scenario tells you a very different thing altogether. Various government ads and messages are advising people to connect their Adhaar to each and every possible thing related to the person's life. They are marketing Adhaar like some magic card which will abolish every problem that Indians have been facing till date. It is also expected to ease the process of future applications like opening a bank account, applying for a passport, PAN cards and other services etc.
Where's the loophole then?
Not everything is foolproof here. These exciting times promised by the government comes at a cost. The biometrics and other personal details of the citizens which have been submitted while applying for the Adhaar isn't secure at all. The government has promised to safely guard them and lock them away safely. But by linking them to our sim cards for example, we are literally feeding these private companies with important personal details like our retina scan or fingerprint. Right to privacy which is a Fundamental Right is openly violated.
What type of privacy is being talked about?
In January, an Indian English daily showed how vulnerable the Adhaar number is when they, posing as anonymous correspondents purchased a service that provided them unrestricted access to details of more than one billion Adhaar numbers created in India so far. Can you imagine how much they needed to pay for that? Just a meager amount of Rs 500. Yes that is what the value of our privacy gets reduced to with this amazing Adhaar concept. Read more about it here.
So what's the big deal about somebody else getting hold of personal details?
Well, The English daily also further showed that by a payment of Rs 300, a software can be purchased which paved the way for printing Adhaar card of any person by entering the Adhaar number.
The vulnerability here is that the Government is proposing to make Adhaar the sole identity proof while opening new bank accounts and new sim cards. Now, imagine somebody printing an Adhaar card by your name and opening a new sim card. That somebody can be anyone, a terrorist or any regional militant who may carry out any activity using that sim card, which has been opened in your name. The prospect of danger here is unimaginable.
A man was also recently arrested in Jalandhar for withdrawing money from someone else's bank account by submitting a fake Adhaar card! See, the scheme is already collapsing.
This is the reason why you shouldn't rush to your nearest bank or Adhaar centre just about blindly and apply for an Adhaar just because your pity neighbors are gossiping about the possible consequences of not having an Adhaar Card. Before making this Adhaar card an obligatory requirement, the Government needs to address the rifts and cracks within the application process. Only after that, they need to proceed further rather than keeping this entire process looming with uncertainty. Also, privacy is a very paramount right of every individual. Linking Adhaar to every service would make it a tool of surveillance. Being in a democratic country, if the citizens are being monitored and watched over by the state, India would be reduced to a China or North Korea.
Before signing off, listen to what Mr. Modi had to say about this wonderful Adhaar card way back in 2013. Watch this video below. Jai Hind!
What type of privacy is being talked about?
In January, an Indian English daily showed how vulnerable the Adhaar number is when they, posing as anonymous correspondents purchased a service that provided them unrestricted access to details of more than one billion Adhaar numbers created in India so far. Can you imagine how much they needed to pay for that? Just a meager amount of Rs 500. Yes that is what the value of our privacy gets reduced to with this amazing Adhaar concept. Read more about it here.
So what's the big deal about somebody else getting hold of personal details?
Well, The English daily also further showed that by a payment of Rs 300, a software can be purchased which paved the way for printing Adhaar card of any person by entering the Adhaar number.
The vulnerability here is that the Government is proposing to make Adhaar the sole identity proof while opening new bank accounts and new sim cards. Now, imagine somebody printing an Adhaar card by your name and opening a new sim card. That somebody can be anyone, a terrorist or any regional militant who may carry out any activity using that sim card, which has been opened in your name. The prospect of danger here is unimaginable.
A man was also recently arrested in Jalandhar for withdrawing money from someone else's bank account by submitting a fake Adhaar card! See, the scheme is already collapsing.
This is the reason why you shouldn't rush to your nearest bank or Adhaar centre just about blindly and apply for an Adhaar just because your pity neighbors are gossiping about the possible consequences of not having an Adhaar Card. Before making this Adhaar card an obligatory requirement, the Government needs to address the rifts and cracks within the application process. Only after that, they need to proceed further rather than keeping this entire process looming with uncertainty. Also, privacy is a very paramount right of every individual. Linking Adhaar to every service would make it a tool of surveillance. Being in a democratic country, if the citizens are being monitored and watched over by the state, India would be reduced to a China or North Korea.
Before signing off, listen to what Mr. Modi had to say about this wonderful Adhaar card way back in 2013. Watch this video below. Jai Hind!
I can see both pros and cons for this adhaar card issue. Now the question is do we surrender our privacy for the sake of making India a corruption free country,which is far from possible by light years or is there any better alternative?
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