Nothing Wrong in Malaysian Student getting Aadhaar Card- ALL NRIs Can get One?
Aadhaar is a 12-digit identification number issued to an individual after the receipt of demographic information such as address, date of birth and biometric information such as iris scan, finger print etc. It is a random number which has no relation to any personal details of the person. It a Proof of Identity and doesn’t qualify you as a CITIZEN of India.
Mangaluru: When I came to know last night that a leading Kannada daily had carried a shocking news, very well highlighted also, making a big issue of a Malaysian student studying a institution in Mangaluru getting a Aadhaar card, I was surprised to note that such a popular paper would carry such a ‘wrong’ report without knowing the exact facts- I also had a big laugh going through the report-because being a naturalized US citizen myself, and also holding a OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card, I too have a Aadhaar card. No woman or a man had come to my house, with political backing convincing me to apply for a Aadhaar card. I applied for it, when it was required to have that Card. My brother and his family, all US citizens, also having OCI status; and my cousin a Canadian citizen, having a OCI card-they all got their Aadhaar card, through proper procedures. They are all legal and good people residing in this country.
So if I and and also all of the above people, and many other foreigners were able to get an Aadhaar Card, why not this Malaysian student get one too. He has been here in Mangaluru for quite a few months, and he is fully eligible to apply for a Aadhaar card. The news and the photo of this innocent Malaysian student was portrayed in such a way by the newspaper, it was very humiliating for any person in his position right now. The newspaper identified the culprit as a Hoh Jian Meng (25), student of medicine at one of the local medical colleges. Even his apartment name, address etc was also published, which is still hurtful to anyone. If it was a case of a rich businessman being caught for tax evasion; or for that matter, a renowned institution caught in a admissions seats scam-the paper wouldn’t have published their names or address.
The news also stated that a woman with a political backup had visited the apartment where this Malaysian student was staying, and convinced him in getting the Aadhaar card. It is learnt that many other residents in that apartment were able to get Aadhaar card, with the help of this “Anonymous Woman?”. The report also stated that the other residents of the same apartment complex had alleged that a mysterious woman had tried to gain entry to the flats on the pretext of giving Aadhaar card. When the watchman stopped her from entering the building, he had received a phone call allegedly from a local MLA requesting to let the woman into the building in view of the need to make identity cards for elections. After this the watchman obliged and let her in.
But no matter what, the news pertaining to this issue was nothing but wrong information highlighted in the Daily. Adding to this serious blunder created by this Newspaper, an electronic media too carried a version of it- which made double blunders on an issue which was completely legal. Now coming to the point-The question arises who is eligible to apply for Aadhaar? Are Non-resident Indian (NRI) or Foreign nationals living in India also eligible to apply for Aadhaar? YES! The Aadhaar Act, 2016 states, “Every resident shall be entitled to obtain an aadhaar number by submitting his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment.”
The Act further defines residency as, “An individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting. The Act further defines residency as, “An individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment.” Chapter III, Section 9 of the Act states that ‘The Aadhaar number or the authentication thereof shall not, by itself, confer any right of, or be proof of, citizenship or domicile in respect of an Aadhaar number holder.’
To clarify on this issue, this morning I communicated with a person handling Aadhaar Car transactions and I asked him a few questions, for which he kindly obliged. I asked, Who are eligible to apply for Aadhaar? A: Whether you are eligible for Aadhaar or not is important as this determines whether or not you have to compulsorily quote it for filing your tax return, applying for PAN and for multiple other financial transactions where it has been made mandatory by law. Essentially, the laws regarding compulsory quoting of Aadhaar and linking to PAN only apply if you are a resident as per the Aadhaar Act. There is a lot of confusion among people regarding who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar as amendments in the last budget have made financial life without one difficult.
Are Non-resident Indian (NRI) or Foreign nationals living in India also eligible to apply for Aadhaar? A: The Aadhaar Act, 2016 states, “Every resident shall be entitled to obtain an aadhaar number by submitting his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment. An individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment can get a aadhaar Card”.
However, the Act does not mention whether the date of arrival or departure is taken into consideration and/or a half day is taken into consideration while calculating a minimum number of days required to stay in India, he adds. One should not confuse Aadhaar residency definition stated above with the one mentioned in the income tax laws. The Income Tax Act defines an individual as a resident if in a financial year (1 April – 31 March), he has stayed in India for more than 182 days. On the other hand, under the Aadhaar Act, there are no specific dates defining a year. The Aadhaar Act has clarified that even if you’re holding an Aadhaar or applied for one it does not mean that you have received Indian citizenship.
Aadhaar is a 12-digit identification number issued to an individual after the receipt of demographic information such as address, date of birth and biometric information such as iris scan, fingerprints etc. It is a random number which has no relation to any personal details of the person. Aadhaar is slowly becoming mandatory for a number of things e.g. doing banking transactions above Rs 50,000, getting benefits under government social security, subsidy schemes etc.
When media had questioned DC Sasikanth Senthil that Aadhaar card could be abused to get their names on the voters list, for which the DC clarified saying, “There is a strict laid down procedure before a person’s name is either entered or deleted from the voter’s list and the booth level officer, who is also ordinarily a voter in that booth, spearheads this activity with the booth level agents appointed by the respective political party. A local inquiry is conducted to either add or deleting names from the voter’s list. There are specified documents used for the purposes of verifying the date of birth of a voter as well as proof of residence and Aadhaar is not one among them. The administration has received nearly 20,000 fresh applications for addition as on January 22 and nearly equal number of deletions have been carried out making the upcoming voters list number neutral. Just by having an Aadhaar card, won’t get your name easily on the voters list”
In conclusion, if I was the victim of the wrong information/humiliation done by couple of these publications, I would have filed a big-time lawsuit. If such media blunder had taken place in US or any other Western countries, it would have been a million/millions dollar lawsuit. Why not here? I hope this Malaysian student takes a advice of a good lawyer in this situation.