Once Aadhaar got operational, the government found it had several other uses—Aadhaar, for instance, is at the heart of the UPI that National Payments Corporation of India developed as an efficient, low-cost and secure payments mechanism; even the BHIM app launched by the prime minister was based on UPI. Similarly, while the taxman has tried to build up a 24×7 repository of high-value transactions to nab tax evaders, a big problem faced was that of fake PAN cards—so a person buying expensive jewelry would show a fake PAN card, as a result of which, when the taxman got the data, it didn’t really help. This was sought to be fixed by insisting on linking PAN cards with Aadhaar. Since fake driving licences are also a big thing, there is a plan to link licences with Aadhaar. The plan to link mobile phones with Aadhaar is of a similar nature, to prevent those giving identity papers—required by law to get a connection—from handing out fakes. So, in case of a terrorist attack, or a theft, if the police/investigating agencies find a phone, they will be able to trace it back to the person who had bought it. This is what Mamata Banerjee is objecting to—and parts of civil society are cheering her—as an invasion of privacy. Under normal circumstances, a person is expected to give proof of identity anyway; but given the prevalence of fakes, and the solution Aadhaar offers, the government asked for mobiles to be linked to Aadhaar. If giving your driving licence or PAN card is not considered an invasion of privacy, why is Aadhaar? The government would be ill-advised to succumb to the pressure on this and make the linking voluntary.