Author: yazdi

Do NOT sign Registered AD letter Acknowledgements

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Perhaps one more idea to be Vigilant ?..

Shared By Adv. Vinod Sampat
Note under certificate of posting is now stopped.

REGISTERED LETTERS…
DO NOT SIGN THEM UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT IS INSIDE…
PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALS – NEW MODUS OPERANDI
IMPORTANT INFORMATION, MUST READ
REGISTERED LETTERS.. DO NOT SIGN…
From ‘Lawyers Talk: 8618’
Without Prejudice.
Dear all,
Something to ponder about when receiving registered letter.
How often do we take the trouble of opening the letter before signing the Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter acknowledgement slip?
Read to find out more…. in future be cautious.

Open letters BEFORE signing to acknowledge receipt of the Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter..!!!
Folks, the next time the postman or courier guy comes to deliver a Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter, a Certificate Of Posting Letter or Parcel, do the following:
a) Check who is it from..??
b) If you do not know the source, reject it.
If you accept it without knowing the source, the following has happened and can happen to you too…
There have been cases where lawyers have done the following:
a) Mailed empty / sealed Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter to people on behalf of their clients for some court case matter.
b) The Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter either, consisted of brochures promoting sale of new real estate or some car model or just an empty A4 size paper inside. In normal circumstances, when one receives an empty letter or junk mail, they will just tear it up and throw it away, BUT BUT, here lies the danger:
a) You signed the Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter acknowledgement card and it is returned to the law firm. That signed Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter
acknowledgement card is proof that a letter was delivered and confirms the delivery and can/will be used against you in court.
b) Same applies to the so very convenient “CERTIFICATE OF POSTING” mail.  When the grace period for you to respond is over,  they quietly go to court and show proof that a Registered AD  (Acknowledgement Due) Letter was sent to you as a reminder and you did not bother to defend it and thus convince the court officials and get a judgement against you.
Next another Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter is sent to you asking for damages approved by the court, or just another empty envelope and you discard it once more and this  time the white collar crook will go to the court quietly and seek the assistance of the court to seal/attach your property to recover the amount awarded by the court and soon the court bailiff will be at your door step to execute the order.
What happens next..?
You frantically call your relatives in disbelief and seek legal advise.
You are lost not knowing what’s happening.
Anxiety, stress, palpitation, sleepless nights cannot be compensated as this is a reality check. You engage a lawyer’s firm, spend a many thousand rupees for paper work and an appeal to the Higher court
to set aside this matter… and also spend several days in court trying to prove your innocence.
What are your rights.??
a) You have every right to reject any mail / parcel that comes from unknown sources, be it a debt collection company, law firm or some individual.
b) You have every right to ask the postman or the person delivering it to open the mail and let you see what is inside and the contents of the letter.
c) REJECT IT if you are not comfortable… or ask them to deliver to a law firm that you know.
d) If you have inadvertently signed and collected the empty Registered AD (Acknowledgement Due) Letter/mail, lodge a police report and also report to the bar council… as this will help in your case to protect you… if the matter goes to court.
Eye opener isn’t it, crime is no longer just house break-ins and snatch thefts where most of the thieves get a few hundred rupees… BUT these days, the crooks come dressed in suits, so be aware and be smart… or you will end up spending thousands of rupees, many hours spent travelling to court or to your
lawyers office, not forgetting the stress, anxiety, sleepless nights, etc. Do inform ALL your family members staff….
NOT TO SIGN ON BEHALF OF ANYONE…
let the postman leave a card,
go check at the post office,
ask the postman to open and
show you what is inside the envelope…
or lastly…
if you are not comfortable, just reject it…
BUT DON’T SIGN WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT IS INSIDE…!!

Hyundai – no refunds?

yazdi1 Comment

I m Vijay Goyal,my cell no.9820190536 and my add.204 Indo Saigon Ind. Estate,A.K.Road,Marol Naka,Andheri (east) Mumbai 400059,Mail add. v.goyal@akshaet.com

I booked a Hundai Creta Car with Global Gallarie wheels Pvt.Ltd.Everest Complex,A.K.Road,Andheri (e),byBooking Docket no C2016071375 on 27/07/2016

Now Global Gallarie is no more their Agent and one of other showroom at Thane is also closed and when there was no response for my Correspondence and Phone Calls,

Made Complaint to MIDC Police Station,On Line Consumer Forum by Complaint No.404665 on Aug.2017 and many other Places but no result,

At Last to Hundai Moter India Ltd.,Irrugattukottai,NH4,Sriprumbudur,Taluka Kanchipuram,Dist. Chennai,Tamilnadu 602117 and reported to Consumer Forum by 404665 no.

But for no result,

Please Advise,

With Warm Regards,

Vijay Goyal.

Railways ordered to pay for non-working AC in coach

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 Ish Sharma of Jalandhar, his wife and two minor children had AC-III tier train tickets for travel on Jhelum Express. Soon after boarding the train at Jalandhar, they felt uncomfortable as the air conditioning system was not working properly. This was brought to the notice of the train conductor who assured that the thermostat setting would be adjusted.

By the time the train reached Jhansi, the air conditioning completely broke down, making the compartment stuffy. Passengers, including Sharma, started feeling suffocated. Some felt so ill that they started vomiting, but no medical aid was provided. The washroom also ran of out water and the condition of the AC-III tier boogie became worse than a general compartment. A written complaint was then lodged with the train conductor who gave an acknowledged of having received the complaint.

At every station where the train halted, passengers requested the travelling ticket examiner (TTE), coach attendant and other railway staff to rectify the problem. Yet, nothing was done. But an assurance was given that something would be done at Delhi. But again nothing was done and even an alternative coach was not arranged for.

Sharma subsequently filed a complaint before the Jalandhar District Forum alleging about the negligence and deficiency in service.

The Railways contested the case, denying all the allegations and asserted that the AC was functioning properly. They denied that Sharma had lodged a complaint and accused him of filing a false complaint just to extort money. The Railways sought a dismissal of the complaint since there was neither any deficiency in service nor unfair trade practice.

Sharma filed his own affidavit and relied on the prescriptions to prove that his wife and minor child had to be hospitalized for nausea and vomiting. He also relied on the written complaint which he had lodged and was acknowledged by the train conductor to substantiate his case and show how the Railway’s denial was false. The Forum concluded that the Railways were suppressing the truth and awarded Sharma a lump sum of Rs.15,000 as compensation.

The Railways challenged this order before the Punjab state commission, which dismissed its appeal. The Railways then approached the National Commission. The delay of over 170 days in filing the revision was attributed to procedural delays of sending thefile from one office to another for approval.

The National Commission observed that the explanation for thedelayshowedlackof seriousness and a casual and lackadaisical attitude on the part of the Railways. It relied on the Supreme Court judgement of the Post Master General & Ors v/s Living Media India Limited& Anr. where such an attitude had been deprecated. Accordingly, by itsorder of January 3, 2018, the Bench of Rekha Gupta refusedto accept thedelay and dismissedthe revision petition of the railways. The order for payment of compensation to Sharma was thus confirmed.

Conclusion: Non-working AC is bad enough, but to go to an extent of lying and accusing the consumer is totally unconscionable, especially when the service provider is the government.

(The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt.of India’s National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His email is jehangir.gai.columnist@outlook.in)

 Jehangir B Gai
ePaper, The Times of India, Bombay, Monday Jan 08, 2018, Page 6:

Maharashtra IT Secretary asks Bank of India to pay Rs3.50 lakh to online fraud victim

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In a significant order that will bring relief to all those who are victims of online frauds, the Secretary of Information Technology (IT) in Maharashtra has asked Bank of India to pay Rs3.50 lakh to a victim of online fraud. As per the IT Act, 2000 and a notification issued on 25 March 2003, IT Secretaries of every State and Union Territory in India act as ‘Adjudicating Officer’ in their respective State or Union Territory.
In a recent order, VK Gautam, IT Secretary, who is also Adjudicating Officer under the IT Act in Maharashtra, held that Bank of India owns, controls and operates sensitive personal data of its customers but failed to implement reasonable security practices and procedures leading to loss to complainant Nirmalkumar Athawale from Kamptee, near Nagpur. Holding Bank of India liable for violation of Section 43A of the IT Act, the IT Secretary asked it to pay Rs2.50 lakh towards wrong transactions and Rs1 lakh as legal charges and compensation for causing mental harassment.
The case is from 2015, when Mr Athawale found that Rs3 lakh were withdrawn from his joint account at Bank of India’s Vaishali Nagar, Kamptee branch. He lodged a complaint against this unauthorised withdrawal with the Bank branch and also with the Police.
Through its internal mechanism, the Bank was able to recover only Rs50,000 out of the Rs3 lakh withdrawn from Mr Athawale’s account. Under guidance from Adv Mahendra Limaye, a Cyber Legal Consultant from Nagpur, Mr Athawale filed a civil suit before the IT Secretary.
After hearing both the sides Mr Gautam, the IT Secretary held that the Bank has not only erred but also committed serious security breach by providing single customer identification code (CID) for two accounts with different constitutions besides providing net banking facility without any request from the customer. The Bank also failed to send messages for withdrawal of Rs3 lakh to Mr Athawale.
“(The) Bank has caused serious compromise with reasonable security practises,” the IT Secretary said while holding Bank of India guilty under sections 43A, G, and H of IT Act. He asked the Bank to pay Rs2.50 lakh towards wrong transactions charged on Mr Athawale’s account and Rs1 lakh towards legal charges and for causing mental harassment.
As per IT Act, the Adjudicating Officer (IT Secretary) has sole jurisdiction for adjudicating on any contravention of IT Act 2000/8 and to award compensation to those who have suffered a loss of less than Rs5 crore. The Adjudicating Officer has power of a Civil Court in resolving cybercrime cases.

Rs 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details

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It was only last November that the UIDAI asserted that “Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure and there has been no data leak or breach at UIDAI.” Today, The Tribune “purchased” a service being offered by anonymous sellers over WhatsApp that provided unrestricted access to details for any of the more than 1 billion Aadhaar numbers created in India thus far.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)It took just Rs 500, paid through Paytm, and 10 minutes in which an “agent” of the group running the racket created a “gateway” for this correspondent and gave a login ID and password. Lo and behold, you could enter any Aadhaar number in the portal, and instantly get all particulars that an individual may have submitted to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), including name, address, postal code (PIN), photo, phone number and email.What is more, The Tribune team paid another Rs 300, for which the agent provided “software” that could facilitate the printing of the Aadhaar card after entering the Aadhaar number of any individual.When contacted, UIDAI officials in Chandigarh expressed shock over the full data being accessed, and admitted it seemed to be a major national security breach. They immediately took up the matter with the UIDAI technical consultants in Bangaluru.Sanjay Jindal, Additional Director-General, UIDAI Regional Centre, Chandigarh, accepting that this was a lapse, told The Tribune: “Except the Director-General and I, no third person in Punjab should have a login access to our official portal. Anyone else having access is illegal, and is a major national security breach.”

1 lakh illegal users

Investigations by The Tribune reveal that the racket may have started around six months ago, when some anonymous groups were created on WhatsApp. These groups targeted over 3 lakh village-level enterprise (VLE) operators hired by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (ME&IT) under the Common Service Centres Scheme (CSCS) across India, offering them access to UIDAI data.CSCS operators, who were initially entrusted with the task of making Aadhaar cards across India, were rendered idle after the job was withdrawn from them. The service was restricted to post offices and designated banks to avoid any security breach in November last year.Spotting an opportunity to make a quick buck, more than one lakh VLEs are now suspected to have gained this illegal access to UIDAI data to provide “Aadhaar services” to common people for a charge, including the printing of Aadhaar cards. However, in wrong hands, this access could provide an opportunity for gross misuse of the data.The hackers seemed to have gained access to the website of the Government of Rajasthan, as the “software” provided access to “aadhaar.rajasthan.gov.in”, through which one could access and print Aadhaar cards of any Indian citizen. However, it could not be ascertained whether the “portals” were genuinely of Rajasthan, or it was mentioned just to mislead.Sanjay Jindal said all of this could be confirmed only after a technical investigation was conducted by the UIDAI.

‘Privacy at risk’“Leakage of Aadhaar data reveals that the project has failed the privacy test. At the recently concluded 11th WTO Ministerial Conference, India submitted a written position on e-commerce, opposing the demand for negotiations on e-commerce by the US and its allies. The latter were demanding access to citizens’ database for free. The revelation by The Tribune also means that the proposed data protection law will now hold no purpose, as the data has already been breached. The state governments must immediately disassociate themselves and cancel the MoU signed with UIDAI,” said Gopal Krishan, New Delhi-based convener of the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties, who appeared before the Special Parliamentary Committee that examined the Aadhaar Bill in 2010.A quick chat, and full access

  • 12:30 pm: This correspondent posing as ‘Anamika’ contacted a person on WhatsApp number 7610063464, who introduced himself as ‘Anil Kumar’. He was asked to create an access portal.
  • 12:32pm: Kumar asked for a name, email ID and mobile number, and also asked for Rs 500 to be credited in his Paytm No. 7610063464.
  • 12:35 pm: This correspondent created an email ID, aadharjalandhar@gmail.com, and sent mobile number ******5852 to the anonymous agent.
  • 12:48 pm: Rs 500 transferred through Paytm.
  • 12:49 pm: This correspondent received an email saying, “You have been enrolled as Enrolment Agency Administrator for ‘CSC SPV’. Your Enrolment Agency Administrator ID is ‘Anamika_6677’.” Also, it was said that a password would be sent in a separate mail, which followed shortly.
  • 12:50 pm: This correspondent had access to the Aadhaar details of every Indian citizen registered with the UIDAI.

Printing Aadhaar cardThis correspondent later again approached Anil Kumar to ask for software to print Aadhaar cards. He asked for Rs 300 through Paytm No. 8107888008 (in the name of ‘Raj’). Once paid, a person identifying himself as Sunil Kumar called from mobile number 7976243548, and installed software on this correspondent’s computer by accessing it remotely through “TeamViewer”. Once the job was done, he deleted the software drivers, even from the recycle bin. Possible misuseGetting SIM cards, or bank accounts in anyone’s name. Last month, a man was arrested in Jalandhar for withdrawing money from someone’s bank account by submitting a fake Aadhaar card.

 

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 3

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/rs-500-10-minutes-and-you-have-access-to-billion-aadhaar-details/523361.html

End Single Use Plastic – Cuz consequences are forever

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What is the greenBUG bag?

It’s an eco-friendly alternative to plastic garbage bin liners. It is the only one of its kind available that is affordable and responsible, both.

How so?

Well, for one, it is made of recycled newspaper and natural glue, at no expense of electricity, water, fuels, or chemicals. It even handles moist kitchen waste well.

Then, on disposal, it does not pose the grave danger that plastic does for thousands of years to the environment and to human health.

So, its raw material is upcycled, its production process is energy- neutral and completely non-toxic, and, after it has served its purpose, it goes back into the environment entirely harmlessly!

OK. What else?

The greenBUG bag is produced by disadvantaged women, to whom this provides valuable supplemental income.

We train them, provide them with productivity tools, buy up their entire production output, and find the market for it. They are paid upfront, thus insulating them effectively from market vicissitudes.

 

RESPONSIBLE WASTE DISPOSAL

NEEDN’T BE INCONVENIENT

www.facebook.com/grnBUG

@Go_greenBUG

 

 

 

When you buy a pack of greenBUGTM   bags:

You buy CONVENIENCE: Now, responsible waste disposal is convenient too!

You buy a product that is:

  • GREEN to produce 
  • GREEN to use
  • GREEN on disposal

… UpCycling never got better!

You buy a product that is made by disadvantaged women, who earn valuable supplemental income from this. We have asked them what they use this money for. The most common answer – for their Children’s schooling needs – fees, bags, books, shoes, the occasional candy…

 

 

RESPONSIBLE WASTE DISPOSAL

NEEDN’T BE INCONVENIENT

www.facebook.com/grnBUG

@Go_greenBUG

https://gogreenbug.com/

Sanofi under fire over its Dengue vaccine

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French drugmaker Sanofi has come under fire as Philippines has suspended the company’s Dengvaxia vaccine — the first promising vaccine for dengue— amid widespread fears about its safety and growing public anger over its use in 830,000 schoolchildren, reports The New York Times. Dengue is a disease spread by mosquitoes that infects about 400 million people worldwide. It puts 500,000 people in the hospital each year and kills 25,000, mostly in Latin America and South Asia.

“The newly revealed evidence, confirmed recently by Sanofi’s review of study data, found that in rare cases, Dengvaxia can backfire: If people who never had dengue are vaccinated and later become infected, the vaccine may provoke a much more severe form of the illness,” the report says.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is reviewing the situation and has issued an interim recommendation that only people who have had a prior dengue infection be vaccinated.
Sanofi too has said that the vaccine should only be given to people who have been previously sickened with dengue. Jack Cox, head of global media relations at Sanofi, told STAT , that “We propose that health care professionals would need to assess the likelihood of prior dengue infection in these individuals before vaccinating and for individuals who have not been previously infected by dengue virus, vaccination should not be recommended.”
However, the issue is most people do not know if they have been infected or no. Dengue could be a serious disease with severe complications. However, in many cases there are no or mild symptoms. In addition, there is no ‘readymade’ test available to determine is someone was infected in the past and now can be vaccinated.
The Philippines health secretary, Francisco T Duque III, had reportedly stated that the government is demanding a refund from Sanofi for the 3.5 billion Philippine pesos, or about $69 million, it spent on the vaccine. It is also asking the company to set up a fund to cover the treatment of any children who develop severe dengue.
According to a report from the New York Times, the Philippines government has begun investigations into the rollout of the immunisation program by Sanofi, which allegedly discounted early warnings that its vaccine could put some people at heightened risk of a severe form of the disease.
Death rates are highest among children, and just last week a 7-year-old girl who had not been vaccinated died from dengue in the Philippines, says the NYT report, quoting agencies.
Dengvaxia, the world’s first dengue vaccine, had been developed by Sanofi over decades of research and is approved in 19 countries.
Meanwhile, the Indian government is working on such vaccines and Phase 1 clinical trials of this vaccine is likely to be held in 2020. Minister of State for Health, Ashwini Kumar Choubey told the Rajya Sabha that DSV4, the vaccine developed by International Centre for Genetic Biotechnology (ICGEB)-Sun Pharma collaborative venture, is a recombinant vaccine on the Virus-Like Particles (VLP) platform with a tetravalent four-in-one VLP design; expressed in yeast, it elicits antibodies to all four DENV serotypes in a shorter schedule of 0, 1 and 2 months.
The other experiment involves the Panacea Dengue Vaccine, which is a cell culture-derived live attenuated, recombinant, freeze- dried, lyophilized tetravalent vaccine with the seed strain borrowed from the US-based National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Drug Controller General India had granted permission to conduct clinical Phase I/II studies, the Minister said.
Triggering public outrage, politicians in the Philippines are demanding information about Sanofi’s advertising campaign and their government’s aggressive push, against the advice of some experts, to vaccinate a million children. The backlash has alarmed researchers who worry that Sanofi’s stumble could stoke mistrust in vaccines around the globe.
Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, said, “It’s hard to think of another circumstance when a major public health program was introduced with this much controversy.”
The episode could prove to be a cautionary tale for pharmaceutical companies, who have already been reluctant to invest in vaccines and drugs that are used mainly in the developing world.
Sanofi saw the Philippines as a key market. In the fall of 2016, the company initiated a “disease awareness” campaign that did not name Dengvaxia but directed people to a Facebook page where Sanofi was mentioned.
The company has told investors that it expects to lose 100 million euros, or about $117 million, as a result of diminished sales. Sanofi is one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, reporting sales of nearly 34 billion euros in 2016, or nearly $40 billion. Two other dengue vaccines are in late-stage development and could threaten future sales of Dengvaxia if they show better results.
You may also wish to read…

 

 http://www.moneylife.in/article/sanofi-under-fire-over-its-dengue-vaccine/52535.html

Key Aadhaar Linking Deadlines You Should Know

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Deadlines postponed indefinitely

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/deadline-for-linking-aadhaar-to-government-schemes-extended-indefinitely-1787255

http://www.moneylife.in/article/deadline-to-link-aadhaar-with-bank-account-extended-indefinitely/52441.html

The deadline for linking bank accounts with Aadhaar is December 31, 2017

Key Aadhaar Linking Deadlines You Should Know
The last date to link Aadhaar with mobile phone number is February 6, 2018

Government has announced the mandatory linking of Aadhaar to various financial services, the deadlines of which are fast approaching. The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced different deadlines for linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts, PAN, mobile numbers and others. Missing these deadlines may lead to dissolution of important services. However, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is yet to decide on granting of an interim stay on Aadhaar being made mandatory to be linked with all these utilities.

This is based on a plea by petitioners who challenged the linking of Aadhaar with various essentials, saying it violates the right to privacy.

Here’s the list of various deadlines that you must know in order to avoid termination of any of your essential services:

Aadhaar-Bank Account linking deadline

The deadline for linking bank accounts with Aadhaar is December 31, 2017. The linking can be carried out at the bank’s branch or through net banking.

Aadhaar-PAN linking deadline

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar to March 31, 2018. The Aadhaar-PAN linking can be done on the Income Tax website.

Aadhaar-mobile phone number (SIM) linking deadline

The last date to link Aadhaar with mobile phone number is February 6, 2018. The linking can be done at a store or a service centre or by calling the customer services wing of the service provider.

Aadhaar-insurance policy linking deadline

The deadline to link insurance policies with Aadhaar is December 31, 2017. This can be done by logging into the insurance companys’ websites or visiting the customer services departments of the providers.

Aadhaar-Mutual Fund linking deadline

The last day to link your Aadhaar card with mutual fund investments is December 31, 2017. The linking can be done by taking help of the registrar and transfer agents.

Aadhaar-Social Security Schemes linking deadline

The last day to link Aadhaar to social security services is December 31, 2017. These services include availing of LPG cylinders and educational scholarships, among other things.

Aadhaar-PPF linking deadline

Updating Aadhaar details by December 31, 2017 is mandatory for subscribers of Public Provident Fund.

https://www.ndtv.com/business/linking-aadhaar-important-deadlines-that-you-should-not-miss-1786918

https://www.ndtv.com/business/aadhaar-linking-aadhaar-linking-deadlines-last-date-what-to-do-other-details-1785339

 

Aadhaar has made me an orphan of our democracy

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Hello. My name is Rajesh Mehar. I am a law-abiding citizen of India. Wait. Actually, I am not so sure anymore.
Until 1 April of 2017, I was a good citizen. You could even have called me an Adarsh Citizen. I paid my taxes on time, did not participate in cash transactions if other alternatives were available, did not hoard cash or have undisclosed income, did not use unregistered mobile phone SIM cards, did not claim subsidies surreptitiously, and definitely did not resort to legal action against my own country.
But since 1 April 2017, it has all been coming apart. I have not been able to file my Income Tax returns despite wanting and trying to. My bank accounts are most likely to become non-operational at the end of this month and I will be forced to transact only in cash. I will not be able to receive a salary, declare my income, or participate in the economy legally. My mobile phone connection will be blocked in February 2018, and I may need to borrow a SIM card and impersonate someone else. I still do not plan to claim any subsidies, but I most definitely plan legal action against my government.
All of this has happened only because of one powerful force in my life. No, not my faadhaar, not my maadhaar, but Aadhaar. My name is Rajesh Mehar. I do not have Aadhaar and I am an orphan of our democracy.
But why? What am I hiding?
Several friends have laughed at my stubbornness. Why don’t you want to get Aadhaar? What are you hiding? Don’t you know Aadhaar is stopping many illegal practices? If you can give your fingerprints to the US Consulate for a visa, why can’t you give your biometrics to our government? Do you hate our Prime Minister?
I have been thinking about these questions without scepticism and formulating my honest answers. It makes sense to start in reverse order.
No, I do not hate our Prime Minister. I disagree with him on many counts, and I think he has made some grievous mistakes along the way, but I like him as much as I like any other political leader from any other party. And that is NOT why I have not got my Aadhaar.
Yes, I have obtained a visa and travelled to other countries and I have submitted my fingerprints in the process. However, I did so feeling powerless, criminalised, and disenfranchised every moment of that process. I did so knowing that I would go back to the welcoming, safe bosom of my country at the end of the ordeal. Now to feel the same way about the land I was born in makes me sad beyond description. I feel like a crying child, beaten and abused outside, coming back home to discover that my parents had gone mad and I was to be beaten and abused at home too.
No, Aadhaar has not stopped criminal activities and illegal practices, or even reduced them. In fact, criminals are using Aadhaar, and common citizens’ lack of understanding about it, to perpetrate crimes and continue illegal practices. The government themselves have leaked citizens’ private information, even the President’s office has. Sometimes, private information has been leaked through obscure websites that nobody knows about, like Zambo dot in. Using Aadhaar, common citizens’ money has been redirected without their knowledge, or cheated out of them again and again and again and again. In fact, criminals have even managed to make fake Aadhaars and the initial promise of weeding out fake claimants of government subsidies and entitlements is also now broken.
Are there safeguards?
But my friends are not idiots. “Arre, but it will never happen to you yaar. The government has made sure that there are safeguards. Even if anything goes wrong, you will be able to get redressal,” they say. Well, no.
Aadhaar was created by a team of technologists who have since left Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the parent organisation, to create other companies that will profit from the Aadhaar ecosystem. This is a troubling conflict of interest, and at least one person connected to ‘monetising Aadhaar’ has been publicly outed as an online troll, creating multiple accounts to badger and discredit critics of Aadhaar. Some people who created the Aadhaar technology are acknowledged to be volunteers! Would I have my broken tap fixed by a volunteer plumber? Would I give my cellphone to have its shattered touch screen repaired by a volunteer technician? Then how can we accept that a mission critical national identity project was developed by volunteer technologists?
If by chance, your or my Aadhaar number is made public, it can never be changed. And unfortunately, you and I are stuck with the same fingers and irises for the rest of our lives. Despite this irrevocable loss in case of a breach, there is no easy complaint system for Aadhaar-related fraud. You can call the Aadhaar customer service call centre, which, by the way, people are having trouble finding. Or it can be reached sometimes but the ‘system doesn’t work’. And of course, no court can allow any legal action connected with Aadhaar except if the legal action is initiated by UIDAI itself.
So, if you or I have an Aadhaar related problem, what is the best way out? Many citizens have taken to using Twitter, a public social media platform owned by an American company, to get through to UIDAI. Moreover, UIDAI themselves encourage us to reveal our Aadhaar number by ‘Private Message’ to air our grievance via this website, which is legally bound to divulge information on the platform to American security agencies. Excellent.
Why is it compulsory?
Nobody knows why Aadhaar is mandatory. Or even if it is mandatory. You can choose not to have an Aadhaar as long as you do not need a bank account, a mobile phone connection, income tax returns, school admissions, medical care, and a host of other optional items. Our Prime Minister himself had opposed Aadhaar vehemently. UIDAI itself petitioned the Supreme Court that Aadhaar should not be made mandatory. So, why is it mandatory? Nobody knows.
Orphaned by Democracy
Indian citizens are constitutionally blessed with three parents for support, one more than the average child gets allocated. These three parents are the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Citizenry have tried to tell these three parents that they are being abused. Unfortunately, these parents have orphaned us. The first parent, our legislature, passed the Aadhaar related legislation as a money bill, which means it did not get debated in the Rajya Sabha at all. The second parent, our executive, has been indirectly making Aadhaar mandatory by making it compulsory to link it to several other services. There is no option for those who do not have Aadhaar or those who do not want to link it. Our last resort, our judiciary, has been patiently wearing down our complaints by not substantially hearing the several Aadhaar related matters before it for the last two and a half years.
So, bereft of any parental support, here I stand.
Thank you for listening to my story. I am Rajesh Mehar, a law abiding citizen of India until the next Aadhaar linking deadline. I am now an orphan of our democracy. Will civil society adopt me?
(Rajesh Mehar is a father of two beautiful children and also works for an IT company. He does not have Aadhaar yet.)