Read out excerpts from the Father of the Nation’s speech

On Martyrs’ Day, Mahatma Gandhi’s public speech against the fingerprinting and profiling of Indians in South Africa was quoted by the petitioners against the Aadhaar scheme as a case of profiling of free citizens by the state.

Arguing before a Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the petitioners quoted the Transvaal Ordinance which required Indians to be subjected to fingerprinting if they did not want to face imprisonment or deportation.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan and advocate Vipin Nair submitted that they wanted to present a page from history about regressive laws which robbed citizens of their dignity and privacy while “branding them as criminals”.

Mr. Divan then read out excerpts from Gandhiji’s speech against the Transvaal Ordinance.