India turning into an Orwellian state: P Chidambaram

The scheme to give every Indian a unique identity number and use it as a vehicle to channelise welfare doles and subsidies saw former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy indulge in a intellectual sparring.

Speaking at IIT-Bombay's 'Mood Indigo' on Friday, Chidambaram — Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra — expressed fears about India turning into an 'Orwellian state' with ideals of liberal democracy and an open society being compromised if Aadhaar was used for every transaction.

On the other hand, Murthy stressed that like any other modern country, there was a need to establish individual identities like a driving license, and asserted that there was no violation of privacy in it. He also sought the need for Parliament to enact laws for protecting privacy. Murthy said Aadhaar was a simple verification of the identity of an individual.

In the wake of criticism that those who are opposing Aadhaar are trying to hide black money, Chidambaram said there is nothing to hide and investigative agencies could access details if needed. "...that record should not be accessed by a hacker or a big brother in the government using my Aadhar. That's my objection," Chidambaram said.

Murthy retorted that this "is the responsibility of the Parliament to ensure that the executive does not do it."

"Why should the state, ie the government, know what medicines I buy, what cinemas I visit, which hotels I stay in, who my friends are?" Chidambaram said adding that governments should resist the temptation to know about activities of individual citizens.

Murthy, however, said, "I disagree with you... all of the things you talked about are available today through Google."

Chidambaram said he has not linked his bank account to Aadhaar and appealed for a pause on such linking till January 17, when the Supreme Court (SC) will hear a bunch of petitions on the project. He also said that people were not linking Aadhaar voluntarily, but as a tool to 'confirm' (stop) the barrage of SMSs' and mailers.

"The question is—there are many number of agencies which say, 'give me your Aadhaar. A crematorium is asking for Aadhar!," Chidambaram said, while clarifying that he did not oppose Aadhar as means to establish identities and helping extend government subsidies.

Noting that there was no need for Aadhaar linkages where no government subsidies or benefits were transferred, Chidambaram noted that the government seemed to be deaf to the reasoning that Aadhaar should not linked to everything under the sun.

Murthy said Aadhaar should not be "trashed" and added that the Parliament must come out with a privacy law to help protect the data.

"When a young man and a young woman want to have a private holiday, they may not be married, what's wrong with that? If a young man wants to buy condoms, why should he disclose his Aadhaar or identity?," Chidambaram asked.