As states suffer rising COVID-19 cases, the public distribution system is a lifeline for many who will be rendered food insecure. Aadhaar linkage increases the risk of transmission, and is a massive source of exclusion. This needs to go! A short thread: 1. Exclusion: In Kenjala village, Kombaru GP, Kadaba taluk: In the middle of a lockdown, people who made it to the PDS shop could not get rice - no mobile network. "staff had to move to the nearest hillock, searching for a proper.. network". daijiworld.com/news/newsDispl…

Link to sign a statement demanding that government ensures equitable access to vaccines and medical resources to survive the pandemic blocksurvey.io/survey/1PfQfn6… statement is attached Demands
-Increase access to vaccinations
-Ensure no barriers, including mandating Aadhaar, for access to diagnostics, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, medication or other treatments
-Protect peoples’ rights over their data
-Permit vaccination for all without ID/residence proof

Today, two years ago, on September 26, 2018, the Supreme Court of India passed the landmark judgement that decided the fate of the #Aadhaar project in India. 
Link: indiankanoon.org/doc/116396036/ The focus of the judgement was on the constitutionality of the provisions of the #Aadhaar Act.
Link: indiacode.nic.in/handle/1234567…

1/n Rethink Aadhaar & Article 21 Trust anchored a session on Surveillance & Technology at the Janta Parliament on 18 August 2020. More than 100 people attended & voted. Thread - Highlights from the session illustrated by @kruttikasusarla rethinkaadhaar.in/blog/2020/8/24… 2/n @PaliSamuel presided over the session and highlighted “mass ostracization and harassment” faced by those who had their personal information on health status, travel history released in the public domain. Key guiding question: where is “trust” between people & the Govt.

#JantaParliament thread with live tweets. @PaliSamuel introduces the 6th session on technology and surveillance - there is a need to ask who are excluded from their constitutional rights by technological solutions/interventions? The people of Jammu&Kashmir have been denied internet access, migrant labourers asked to book trains online, rights bearing citizens reduced to data subjects #JantaParliament

Join us tmrw at #JantaParliament for a session on Technology, Exclusion & Surveillance from 3pm to 6pm. Hear 20 speakers critically appraise govt policy on technology, exclusion & surveillance. Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Visvam will attend, Usha Ramanathan will give the keynote address You can register at this link bit.ly/2Y3cJH1 to participate #JantaParliament

We are getting set for Day 2 of the #AadhaarTribunal. Today we look at #AadhaarAndBeyond. Join us for another day of engaging conversations! Here's a snapshot of what happened yesterday. Thank you @TheStatesmanLtd

Koyali Devi, the mother of young Santoshi who lost her life to Aadhaar related exclusions in 2017, speaks about 11 lakh ration card deletions in Jharkhand. Taramani ji from Jharkhand narrates brutal stories of food insecurity worsened because of Aadhaar: from starvation deaths to violations in mid-day meals; the scale of the horror is immeasurable.

.@sinhadipa speaks on the children's rights and Aadhaar: even the state of Aadhaar report notes that more than a million children are denied enrolments into school for not having an Aadhaar.

#AadhaarTribunal The same report also shows that 47percent of children in schools had to submit their Aadhaar cards. Additionally, 8percent children were denied mid-day meals for Aadhaar issues.

These percentages when thought in terms of absolute numbers is a devastating fact. #AadhaarTribunal

.@SakinaDH begins the first session on NREGA with notes on "Aadhaar in Digital Payments" Now at the #AadhaarTribunal : a brief explanation not how DBTs function with aadhaar.

We have just started the People's Tribunal on Aadhaar issues. Please follow this space for more updates. #AadhaarTribunal .@nikhilmkss begins with a keynote address at the #AadhaarTribunal. He reiterated and elaborates the fallacies on all three arguments provided by the Aadhaar advocates: inclusion, corruption, and efficiency.

The internet shutdowns across the country are nothing but another means to stifle dissenting voices and allow misinformation from state institutions.
The last we checked, the Constitution doesn't endorse this. We have seen the repercussions of this in Kashmir, and we can't possibly emphasise the atrocity of it all enough.

We reject the idea that our citizenship shall be decided by draconian, oppressive and bigoted laws like this. While we continue to fight against the perils of @UIDAI, we shall also fight against the CAA, NPR and NRC - laws that curtail a person's rights based on one's identity.

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1206492721134727169

The violence unleashed by the police and other state sponsored units at the #CABProtests over the last couple of days and the apathy of the SC shall not deter us. We extend our support to the students and all others who have had to bear the brunt of this failure of democracy.

We have brought up reports of Aadhaar data entry errors and it's grave (sometimes, even life-threatening consequences). Here's some simple mathematics about the complex project of @UIDAI + #NRC_CAB (1/n) A recent piece by @srajagopalan on the @livemint elaborates on the inevitability of errors and it's subsequent high costs of the #NRC_CAB.
livemint.com/opinion/column… (2/n)

Friends in #Bangalore/ #Bengaluru:

Usha Ramanathan will lead two informal seminars on Nov 19 and Nov 20 as a lead up to her public lecture on Nov 21.

Seminar 1:
Tuesday, Nov 19 2019. 11:30am - 1:00pm
Where: Archives at NCBS
Topic: An inquiry into the databasing of DNA Reference 1: DNA Bill. prsindia.org/billtrack/dna-…
Reference 2: Dissent note on the DNA Bill. thewire.in/health/how-the…

Folks, an appeal:

Last year, some Rethink Aadhaar members created @Article21_Ind as an engine that could power further struggles to counter the impact of #Aadhaar and other civil technologies on human rights – in particular the right to life, liberty, and livelihood... We find ourselves facing complex questions which will someday seek resolution in the highest courts in our country, just as the Aadhaar project did. Among these are questions of citizenship in the age of digital identities thrown up by #NRCassam...

This time last year, we were anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench to pronounce the #AadhaarJudgment. We were hopeful, we were worried, but we think we were prepared. #Aadhaar wasn't - isn't - going away so easily. The govt has continued pushing #Aadhaar... ..and so we need to keep talking about #Aadhaar, we need to mark this "anniversary" of the #AadhaarJudgment as a day we were reminded of how uphill the struggle for rights is. @aamvakil and @godavar tell us where we stand and what we are still fighting
nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/rethin…

We cordially invite you to a press conference TODAY, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, at Indian Women’s Press Corps (Windsor Place, Delhi) where we will demand that @ECISVEEP seek the dismissal of a petition filed in Delhi HC which proposes linking #Aadhaar with voter ID. We will release a statement endorsed by over 200 concerned citizens requesting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to oppose the linking of Aadhaar to Voter IDs. Speakers include #UshaRamanathan, @JagdeepChhokar and @prasanna_s.

The #AadhaarAmendmentsBill is a further assault upon Constitutional values and the Supreme Court's judgment. Our statement, in screenshots. 1/n We reiterate our concerns on the rampant expansion and function creep of Aadhaar. We reiterate our demands made to MPs.

1. Oppose the introduction of The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in Lok Sabha by Members of Parliament across political parties.

We believe those responsible for governing the #Aadhaar scheme need to be held accountable for the mounting exclusions, the continuing data breaches and security lapses, and not least for violating SC orders time and time again. #PeoplesAgenda2019 Our manifesto of demands includes:

1. Revoke the Aadhaar (and other Laws) Amendment Ordinance, 2019.

2. Repeal the illegally-enacted Aadhaar Act, and launch a public consultation on the future of the Aadhaar scheme.

#PeoplesAgenda2019

A further thread elaborating on the starvation deaths due to not linking #Aadhaar, which are not limited to Bengal alone. Jharkhand has seen 17 such deaths including Santoshi Kumari (age 11, denied rations) & Premani Kunwar (age 64, pensions remitted to another person's account). The full list of #Aadhaar-related deaths from Jharkhand compiled by @rozi_roti. @JharkhandJanad1 has been engaging politically, with @HemantSorenJMM, @Dipankar_cpiml etc. @JmmJharkhand @cpimlliberation @INCJharkhand @HansdakVijay @drajoykumar @SubodhKantSahai @yourBabulal