The Open letter made public on December 25, 2023 may be read here:

To
Shri Rajiv Gauba
Cabinet Secretary
Govt of India

Dear Shri Gauba,

I refer to the news report which revealed that the Aadhar data relating to 815 million citizens had been leaked, with the data put on sale in the dark web. This implies that the Aadhar data of 57% of the population of India is on sale. One is not sure whether the data relating to the rest of the population are also leaked! 

This is far too serious a matter for it to be treated lightly and it calls for nothing less than an independent judicial enquiry, for the following reasons:

1. It is the government that has been obstinately insisting on Aadhar card linkage for every conceivable part of the citizen’s life, including bank accounts, medical insurance, Covid testing/ vaccination, voter’s identity, passports and whatnot, without putting in place a commensurate fool-proof security system to pre-empt hacking and leakage of the personal information of the citizens.
2. I had earlier written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that in many States, the number of Aadhar cards exceeded the population and a sharp spike in the number of Aadhar cards had been observed in some sensitive States, giving room for the proliferation of fake Aadhar cards. My letter dated 29-4-2023 (https://countercurrents.org/2023/04/proliferation-of-fake-aadhaar-cards-a-threat-to-integrity-of-2024-elections/) refers. Already, in several States, there have been instances of single households having hundreds of voter identity cards, about which the Commission is fully aware. Are some political parties involved in manipulating the electoral rolls to their advantage by misusing the above-cited Aadhar data? This can play havoc with the integrity of elections during general elections of 2024.
3. Had the government conducted the 2021 Census on time, there would have been a basis for cross-checking the State-wise Aadhar card numbers as a macro verification instrument. It is the Centre, citing the COVID epidemic, that insisted on deferring the 2021 Census, conveniently forgetting that even when the Spanish Flu paralysed India around 1918-19, the then government with little resources, preferred to conduct the 1921 Census, given its importance as an important statistical necessity. Should not the government own responsibility for deferring the Census count and depriving the country of an authentic population count?
4. By resorting to unduly excessive use of Article 282 of the Constitution to escalate the multiplicity of Centrally Sponsored schemes (CSSs) to a mind-boggling number of 314 involving Rs 4.76 lakh crores of public money, largely transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts linked to their Aadhar Cards, the large-scale existence of fake Aadhar cards would have led to large numbers of fake Jandhan bank accounts, resulting in public funds going to wrong beneficiaries. I have brought this to the notice of the Finance Ministry without eliciting any response (https://countercurrents.org/2023/07/length-of-the-last-mile-how-well-the-welfare-schemes-fare-in-the-last-mile/). Who are the beneficiaries of the mis-directed public funds?
5. The sale of Aadhar data through the dark web, as reported, has enabled hackers to obtain mobile numbers linked to those Aadhar cards and misuse them in myriad ways, including hacking bank accounts, harassing people through such fake mobile numbers and so on. For no fault of theirs, the citizens find themselves subject to investigation by the police and other agencies. I have brought instances of this kind to the attention of TRAI, RBI, and UAIDA without much response. 

Since individual regulatory authorities seem to be treating this matter somewhat casually, leaving unwary citizens in the lurch and since the consequences of the Aadhar breach can create all-round chaos and lawlessness, the Centre is under an obligation to institute an independent enquiry by members of the higher judiciary so that the citizens may repose trust in its credibility.

Kindly treat this as urgent as the 2024 elections are not far away and large-scale hacking of bank accounts etc. is already taking place, which the government cannot afford to ignore.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,

E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam

Related:

MHA authorises Registrar General to authenticate Aadhar for birth and death registration

Centralising record of deaths and births: Centre’s play at a future NRC?

Census is not a priority for the Union government

Identifying fake Aadhaar, a plot to bring in CAA-NRC?

The post Widespread leak of citizens’ Aadhar data- urgent call for an independent judicial enquiry to protect citizens from harassment appeared first on SabrangIndia.

All India Muslim Professional Law (AIMPL) Board General Secretary Maulana Hazrat Mohammad Wali Rahmani on March 1, 2021 grieved the death of a married woman in Gujarat, who died by suicide, following extreme harassment from in-laws regarding dowry.

“It is despicable that in-laws harass women for dowry. Daughter-in-laws should be treated well. Repeatedly taunting them, asking their family to bring money, mentally and physically torturing women is not the job of good people. In Islam, it is forbidden to take or give dowry but people do not follow it,” said Rahmani.

The woman recorded a video message shortly before her death for her father wherein she talked about the abuse and appealed to her family not to pursue a domestic violence case.

The Board representative said that without giving such incidents a religious colour, they should serve as a warning to people, especially Muslims, to free the society of such social evils. Society should think seriously about the real reasons for these, said Rehmani. Accordingly, in light of growing discussion around such social evils, the AIMPL Board has called for a campaign in this regard. 

The Tafheem-e-Shariah committee has called for meetings in all states to highlight people’s attention towards such incidents. Organisations appealed to people to support the initiatives and eliminate the social evil of dowry.

“Every person should start this from home. They should commit to the fact that neither they will not ask for or give dowry during their children’s wedding. The disease of dowry should be eradicated from the whole society,” said Rahmani.

Teachings of Islam also forbid the practice of suicide. According to Rahmani, due to such teachings, Muslim communities face few cases of killing, burning, killing, and suicide compared to other religions. However, the recent incident has received undue attention due to the victim being a Muslim woman.

“By making publicity of this, some people are attempting to show that there are many incidents of suicides within the Muslim community which is not right,” said Rahmani.

For anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts, here’s a 24-hour helpline 9820466726. Similarly, women in distress may contact the Central Social Welfare Board -Police Helpline number 1091/ 1291, (011) 23317004 or contact Sakshi – violence intervention center via (0124) 2562336/ 5018873.  

The official statement issued by the AIMPLB may be read here: 

Related:

Bombay HC acquits husband accused of cruelty and abetment to suicide of wife
The 2020 plague of Domestic Violence
Selective disclosures to the media affect the rights of accused and victim: SC
SC on Dowry Death: No conviction if unnatural death not established

The post We need to rid society of dowry’s curse: All India Muslim Personal Law Board appeared first on SabrangIndia.

They also carried out a march demanding protection for all Kashmiris, including students studying outside the state.

The Kashmir Traders Federation, an organisation of local traders and businessmen, has called for a protest shutdown in the Valley on Sunday in solidarity with Kashmiris living outside the Valley and with students and professionals.

Courtesy: Two Circles.net
 

The post Traders shut shops in Srinagar to protest against harassment of Kashmiri students appeared first on SabrangIndia.