NEW DELHI: The passport is not proof of citizenship, government sources stressed this week after a furious debate online on that topic. The debate was sparked by a foreign ministry official’s remark that a passport is only a travel document.
till now many believed it recognised the holder as an Indian citizen. But now the government has said it doesn’t, not legally anyway, and this has stirred up a hornet’s nest over its purpose, legal and in common practice.
The row broke after a foreign ministry official observed a passport is ‘strictly a travel document’ and cannot be treated as proof of citizenship. Its grant, the official stressed, does not give access, for example, welfare schemes for Indian citizens.
Already, the government has said the Aadhar card and voter’s card are not proof of citizenship..
X erupted with tweets serious and sarcastic.
‘Not citizenship proof? Absurd’
Many pointed out that the passport is issued solely by the Government of India after exhaustive background checks – which include physical police verification of an individual’s residential status – and literally identifies the holder as an Indian.
Award-winning lyricist Javed Akhtar called the ministry’s position “absurd” and questioned the logic of the government issuing passports if it is unconvinced the holder is not, in fact, an Indian citizen.
