The statement made by an official of the Ministry of External Affairs that a passport is only a travel document and not conclusive proof of Indian citizenship has raised questions and created confusion. Strictly speaking, the statement is not news. It does not lay down any new policy. Passports are issued under the Passports Act, and citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act,1955. Although passports are generally issued after confirming citizenship, in special cases, they can be issued to non-citizens. The courts have also affirmed that it is a travel document. The Constitution defines citizenship, but does not mention a document that conclusively establishes it. Even procedures for obtaining voter IDs or PAN cards do not demand proof of citizenship.

The statement about the passport may, therefore, not be about it, but about citizenship. It might be meant to create uncertainties about citizenship, and to show that citizenship needs to be proved afresh. By law, citizenship may be acquired through birth, descent, registration, naturalisation or incorporation of territory. The citizenship of all those who are now citizens, or deem themselves to be citizens, may be seen as valid only on any of those grounds. The MEA statement on the passport’s inadequacy suggests that citizenship must be established in the way the government wants it to be proved. The situation could be like the demand made by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to the voters that they prove their status as voters. Millions of names have been removed from the voters’ rolls, and lakhs of people are waiting for a decision on their voting status. The ECI asked for a clutch of documents to prove that a person is a voter. Many could not provide them because it was practically not possible for them to procure them. The names of many who produced the documents were also removed. It could be much worse in the case of citizenship.

The only document that could prove citizenship is the birth certificate, that too with conditions relating to the year of birth or parentage attached to it. Many people do not have it and can’t get it even if they try because the original records may not exist. So, the situation in India will be much worse than the SIR of the electoral rolls if there is a special intensive revision of citizenship. There has been talk about a National Register of Citizens (NRC) and a Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The reference to passports has caused concern that it might lead to a citizenship survey, with all its consequences. (Source: DH)