Mainstream Weekly

Journey from Emergency to Digital Emergency Architecture, a monstrous legacy of Pranab Mukherjee: India

Gopal Krishna — 2026-05-22T04:27:25Z

In your files village weather is rosy)
But this data is fake, this claim is bookish
— Adam Gondvi
Had Adam Gondvi (1947-2011) been alive, he would say,

- 2026

Something is rotten in Aadhaar Based Digital Kingdom: India

Gopal Krishna — 2026-02-15T09:30:39Z

Introduction
If aadhaar based digital injustice, slavery and totalitarianism is not wrong, nothing is wrong.
The question:Are we all going to continue to give our consent to voluntary servitude to the beneficial owners of the automatic identification and biometric profiling machines, or will we confront the naturalisation of the politics of obedience? raises the oldest political questions about knowledge, authority, power and human dignity. In his book The Politics Of Obedience: The (…)

- 2026

Aadhaar Act is an Assault on Basic Structure of Constitution: India

Gopal Krishna — 2025-07-26T00:51:48Z

Supreme Court

- 2025

Aadhaar Number database is beyond national control: India

Gopal Krishna — 2025-06-14T01:52:12Z

Transfer of biometric database compromises sovereignty of nations in South Asia
The spectre of an authoritarian, vindictive, surveillance state thus continues looming large over India. Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs in Our Living Constitution (2025), p. 97
There is no system of maintaining year wise records of deactivations. Maintaining such a database is not required under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and Aadhaar (Enrolment & Update) (…)

- 2025

India

Gopal Krishna — 2025-05-17T09:17:08Z

- 2025

India's First Metadata case: USAID's role in India

Gopal Krishna — 2025-02-15T03:32:46Z

The

- 2025

India

Gopal Krishna — 2024-11-02T00:58:08Z

The Aadhaar Act disallows an individual access to the biometric information that forms the core of his or her Unique ID (Aadhaar). The lack of access is problematic for the following reasons: First, verification of whether the biometrics have been recorded correctly or not in the first place is not possible. This becomes critical when that same information forms the basis of identity and is the basis of authentication and subsequent access to welfare benefits and other services. Second, (…)

- 2024

India's First Metadata case: Why no to electoral bond and Sangh's donor driven One Nation, One Election and One Unique Identifier? Part 8 | Gopal Krishna

Gopal Krishna — 2024-10-19T16:01:13Z

In a functional democracy, election is a dialogue with the people. The frequent dialogue and deeper dialogue is like sunlight for democracy and which is good for the health of citizens

- 2024

India's First Metadata case: Why No to Bio-Political Tattooing through Aadhaar Number Online Database? Part 7 | Gopal Krishna

Gopal Krishna — 2024-06-21T22:16:24Z

If you think IT is the solution to your problem, then you don't understand IT, and you don't understand your problem either.
— Roger Needham, a noted computer scientist
If the constitution of a state is democratic, then every exceptional negation of democratic principles, every exercise of state power independent of the approval of the majority, can be called dictatorship.
— Carl Schmitt, the Nazi philosopher in his essay 'On Dictatorship' (1921)
इंडी गठबंधन वाले जब ईवी

- 2024

India's First Metadata case: Why Prashant Kishor is wrong about Aadhaar Number Online Database Part 6 | Gopal Krishna

Gopal Krishna — 2024-05-04T03:55:29Z

"I have a file on you." M. K. Narayanan's routine threat to his adversaries as National Security Adviser (NSA) quoted in Sanjay Baru's book 'The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh'
"One way to ensure that the unique identification (UID) number is used by all government and private agencies is by inserting it into the birth certificate of the infant. Since the birth certificate is the original identity document, it is likely that this number will then (…)

- 2024