The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) has made Aadhaar mandatory for new admissions this term. This comes as yet another violation of the Supreme Court ruling making Aadhaar purely voluntary – only this time so close to home. Meanwhile, a friend also pointed me to this UGC notice dated June 29, 2016 stating that Aadhaar will be mandatory for all disbursement of stipend to students from the financial year 2016-17 onward.

Most people in IISc depend on their stipend to make ends meet. Many even support their families on their stipend. By blackmailing them with their livelihood, the government is arm twisting more people into signing up for Aadhaar.

Aadhaar makes mass surveillance easier than it already is, and vastly increases the government's control over the people. We must fight it while we yet can. I have not registered for Aadhaar yet, and do not intend to do so any time soon. Let's see where this goes.

For a collection of good arguments against Aadhaar, read Aadhaar debate: Why you should care about privacy even if you have absolutely nothing to hide published in scroll.in.