The Passport story

Today I want to share a true experience of an Indian citizen with an establishment of the government. It’s a true account by Mr. Bholanath Hansmukh about the pathetic level of services, the insensitive and rude behavior and total lack of accountability he experienced at the hands of the government officials. Mr. Bholanath just like his name, is a calm and straight forward person with usually a smiling face...who worked in an IT company since almost 8-9 years, been at onshore locations outside India for couple of years. One fine day, when he was back to Ramgarh, India after finishing up his UK work assignment...he realized his passport is due to expire after 10 odd months. 

So he checked out the official passport website, and found that for the reissue application of an expired passport or to be expiring within next 1 year, one needs to provide the old passport and the address proofs of all the places where he stayed in last 1 year. Now it was only 2-3 months, since he had returned from UK, so he was concerned that what will happen if he mentions his UK address in the application form? He tried the passport office contact numbers, but nobody picked up! So he called up few passport agents, and was told, that in that case, it will take quite a long time and his file shall be sent to UK for address verification, but if he can spend Rs. 10-12000, then the agent can get his work done in 3-4 months by bribing some officials!

He was not ready to spend that much money and probably somewhere inside he was hopeful that he can get his passport reissued without bribing anybody - though he was not a person in love with lofty ideals and all....yet he was hopeful of an improved system in India, specially after seeing the online website and the facility of online application etc. Since he had no plans to go for any onshore assignments in near future and was planning to make Belapur his base, he decided to wait till he completes one year in India, and apply for the reissue after that.  But he was told by the agents, that if he changes his location from Ramgarh to Belapur within 1 year, then again his passport application will be in rounds from Belapur to Ramgarh back & forth. So he put his plans to move to Belapur on hold for the time being and waited till 1 year was over, but in the meantime, after renting a flat in Ramgarh, for around 6 months, he shifted to Junagarh as he was paying a very high rent, he wanted to save on some rent. So eventually he had 2 different addresses in the last one year of stay in India. Still he had thought that ...it will not create a big problem, as both addresses are within Ramgarh-Junagarh regions which are very close by. He didn't know that time, that he had committed a big mistake by shifting his home from Ramgarh to Junagarh!!

So after 1 year in India, Bholanath checked out on the website, and found that he has to fill an online application form and 2 sets of PP forms (Personal particulars), for the 2 different addresses he stayed at. So he submitted the form, and took the print out, on which an appointment date and a time was mentioned when he was supposed to submit his application with all necessary documents at the passport office. He was impressed by all this online stuff and he went to Junagarh passport office 15 min before the allotted date/time, only to find a long queue of almost 150-200 people ahead of him! All of them had the same date and the same time mentioned in their application forms too!  He was given a token number there, the number was 182 or something...and there he was standing in the queue waiting for his turn!! He thought.....what's the use of online application submission then??

After standing for almost 3 hours or so, when his token number was about to be displayed at one of the windows, the lunch time struck!! He would have to wait for another 30-40 min or so now….for the lunch time to be over and the officials to be back at their desk again. What a luck he had.....he thought! But he decided to wait and finish this passport business today! But while standing in the queue, he came to know that he needs to have 2 sets of copies of documents instead of 1, as per the website guidelines! Why don't they update the same on the website or why don’t they follow what’s there on the website?? Just to harass the applicant later?? What the hell! Thinking all this he ran downstairs to the photocopy shop to get the 2nd copy of all documents. At last, when it was his turn, his application form was thrown back from the window, and this time it was his mistake and not bad luck! He was supposed to mention name, address and contact number of 2 persons of the locality where he stayed in the PP forms and he ended-up writing Junagarh contact names in Ramgarh PP form as well. It was his mistake, and the official at the other side of the window was totally rude and was in no mood to cope-up with these mistakes. He was asked to print new sets of PP forms, and fill again with correct details. He was getting late for his office, and to make it worse...he didn't have additional set of photos too, he was frustrated to the core now...but at the end of the day it was his mistake and hence he was cursing himself and nobody else. The only relief was to know the fact that the online application remains valid for 5 days, from the appointment date. So you can come on any of these 5 days and submit your application. So he decided to leave and come again the next day with full preparations.

Next morning, he left for the passport office to reach 1 hour in advance from the opening hour, this time the queue was only a bit shorter than the day before....it was shorter….only for him to reach to the window just before lunch time...he still had to stand for 2-3 hours! This time he came prepared with all documents. So at his turn, the lady at the window verified his documents, and quickly submitted his application - till that time he was nervous and was praying for no mistakes to be found this time in the form or the documents!! Why there was such fear...?? Why the nervousness??  Had he committed any crime by applying for passport reissue...?? Was he submitting any false documents…??  Anyways....he was told to make the cash payment at the cash counter and get the receipt. The person at the counter was totally ignorant, took the cash and threw the receipt in disdain towards the window as if it was some trash he was throwing in a dustbin!!  Bholanath took the receipt and kissed it.....and came out of the passport office with a satisfaction of winning some sort of a battle! 

But when he looked at the receipt, he was not able to read a thing there….as if the letters were printed with some invisible ink!! Hahaha.....now he wondered how would he be able to check the status of his passport application on the website if he can't see the application number on the receipt??  Another struggle had started - now he was guessing numbers and letters by whatever little he could read on the receipt and keying in the application number on the website to check the status. After a lot of trial and error effort, he managed to decode his application number and he wrote it down in big font on the receipt and emailed to himself so as to not to loose it!  Again he had won the battle! Why there are so many battles to fight in India....when it comes to dealing with government offices/officials???

But he still had many battles to fight..........it was not as easy as he had thought to get his expired passport reissued.... he was not a Pakistani or a Bangladeshi.....it is easier for them to get a fake passport and visa in India than for a normal law abiding Indian citizen....like the protagonist of my blog!! Probably I am exaggerating here....but couldn’t help it after hearing out Bhola’s frustration with the system! 

So here was he....in hope of getting his new Passport soon now...he was waiting for the police verification call. He got a piece of paper at his flat almost one and a half months after applying for the reissue, which said he needs to report to the Junagarh police station within 2 days for the police verification between 4 to 6 pm. He went to the police station next morning to request if he could visit on coming weekend, as his office timings were 2 to 11 pm. They agreed, so he was happy thinking the ball had started rolling in right direction. On that Saturday, he had to wait in the police station for around 3-4 hours, as the queue was long there as well. But eventually his verification was done successfully and he was told that his file will go to Ramgarh police station and he should expect a call from there. Now please don't think that it was free.......I think I forgot to mention here that he had to pay Rs. 200 to police for a successful verification!

Now, he was waiting for another similar notice from Ramgarh police station....and it was more than 1 month since the Junagarh verification was over, and there was no call. In the meanwhile, the status on the website consistently showed as, 'police report not received'. He wondered how much more time will it take...so he went to Junagarh police station to inquire....there he was told that they send the cleared files immediately next day to the passport office, so he should check either with passport office or Ramgarh police station! 

So he thought first to check at Ramgarh police station.......and there he was told that they haven't received his file yet and it might be with CID! Now he was wondering what CID was doing with his file?? 

He was about to plan a visit to CID office or to passport office to inquire.....and suddenly one day he got another piece of paper at his flat...which was an exact copy of the earlier one he received from Junagarh police station! At the same time, the status on the website had changed to 'police report is adverse, show cause notice sent by post'!! He was frustrated but was trying to remain calm reminding himself that it’s India and things move at their own pace here and he should be patient. Next day he went to the police station asking why again he received the same notice, when he had already gone through the whole verification process? They expressed surprise...and asked whether he had filled the reissue form again? He told them that they had already done the verification 1 and half months back........then they checked the file again, and said that 'oh...it has come to us by mistake...it needs to go to Ramgarh police station'!! He was feeling so helpless and frustrated......but he couldn't say anything to them...apart from asking what next now? They told that they shall send his file back to passport office in 2 days and from there it shall go to Ramgarh police station. ‘Okay’....he said and left the police station with only one thought.....what wrong has he done ......is it not his right to get his expiring passport reissued??

Now Bholanath decided to go to passport office and inquire about all this....he wanted an answer.... just because of this passport issue....all his future plans about his career….his life.....were on hold....!!

So he went, the next day to passport office only to find himself again standing in a long queue.....he was surprised to see that even the inquiry queue was as big as the queue for application submission!! Once again after spending around 2 hours, his name was called and he entered along with around 4 other people into the assistant passport officer's cabin. He thought here he is going to ask the questions and seek the answers from this guy. But he was out of his mind....when he saw it was the other way round.......the officer who was supposed to answer to the questions of the applicants....was instead interrogating the applicants and was asking them whether they have brought this doc and that doc and the other!! The applicants were showing the documents as if they are applying for the passport yet again...!! Why the hell in the world they were being asked to furnish various documents when they had already submitted all the documents at the time of the application and their application was submitted only after verifying all those documents by the very same officials???  The officer was again a picture of rudeness and insensitivity.....he ill-treated an elderly man who just wanted to know when he would receive his passport as the status on the website was showing as 'passport will be sent soon' or something like that for him! At this time of point, Bholanath knew what's going to happen with his inquiry. At his turn, the officer told his police verification was pending....Bholanath told him that it was already done at Junagarh police station long back...and still his file was sent again to Junagarh.......the officer checked his file and said “oh...you have stayed in Ramgarh also......so you should have gone to Ramgarh police station.....when he told that he had visited Ramgarh police station without any success....then the officer says to him that he should have gone to Jhumri Talaiya Police station...and not Ramgarh!!  He was angry....and told that nobody informed him that he needs to go there...he was expecting to receive some sort of intimation. At this, the officer said...he can't help with that...and you need to check with Ramgarh police station why they didn't send any notification. Moreover he said...your report is showing as adverse...Bholanath asked...what's the problem. The officer said in a hurry....we need to check out the report in detail and we will let you know later!  

Bhola was totally frustrated and he decided that he can’t take it anymore now and he should ask for his passport back.....now he should not wait for any more notifications & investigations! He said to the officer...that his company is going to transfer him to Belapur by end of next month, hence if possible could they please return his old passport.

The officer said okay....write a letter mentioning all this and submit, and then we shall close your file and the old passport shall be sent to you later by post. On asking by when he shall receive his old passport...the officer got angry...and told him that he needs to entertain many other inquires...and he doesn't have time to keep answering to only one person...he asked to wait!  Bholanath couldn’t say anything…he wanted his passport back.......what a pity!  He wrote a letter in a haste and came back in the cabin…waited till the officer finished all other applicant's inquiries....then officer checked about the cancellation process with somebody over the phone and finally asked Bhola to sign at few places and gave his passport back in his hands after stamping it with a 'cancelled by passport office' stamp!!

So here was Mr Bholanath Hansmukh....with his old expired passport in his hands....it was more than 3 months since he had applied for the reissue of passport....and what he got in his hands after all this time....?? Not a new passport but the old expired one....with a cancelled stamp on it.......and yet after all this.....he had to thank the officials for giving him back his passport and closing the file!

After listening to Bholanath’s account I thought that probably he lacked the fighting spirit and the perseverance…but then I think…..what the hell……..it was just a matter of a reissue of a goddamn passport and not a freedom struggle of a country…not a warfront….not even a game of sport! Why the hell it was made so difficult for him and for many other Indians…by these government officials…why it is so difficult in India to exercise our basic rights….and the worst thing is the attitude and behavior of these officials starting from the police to the passport office………why they are so rude….why aren’t they polite…they are not even performing their duty…and they act as if they are doing a favor to us….when they submit our application or clear a verification!  Bhola had told me once…that in UK…even in a small office like a post-office, the employees did their job honestly…and treated all the customer’s with respect, politeness and courtesy! No wonder why educated people who go abroad don’t like to come back to India!

Still………Satyamev Jayate.....long live India.................India....I love you...........!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: All characters and places appearing in this write-up are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. But the write-up is inspired by real life events.