The Government has made minor concession after the public protest for the NEW GOVERNMENT OF INDIA RULES FOR OVERSEAS INDIANS WHO HAVE BECOME NATURALIZED CITIZENS OF OTHER COUNTRIES.
After the first announcement, the government only reduced the fees payable from US$175 to US$20 but many other provisions remain unchanged causing the undue hardships to all. If they needed any information for any reason from anyone then they can ask individually to that person for surrender of his/her old expired passport(s). Instead of this they are asking everyone to surrender their old Passports. No other Governments are doing such things. Even if it is to maintain secrecy or confidentiality for who is being investigated this step may have been taken, then also this should not be done retroactively. With this measure, the Indian government will collect back from the present living persons only. What about those who are no more!
This is like instead of getting an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate, changing the law of the need to get the magistrate's permission to issue an arrest warrant. After 60 years of freedom Indian administrative machinery is still not out of 'licences & controls' attitude of the British Raj days!
The Government can appreciate that the Passports were not provided gratis-free, everyone had paid the required amounts, without any choice or consideration of its affordability. Making every one to do so now is unfair - unreasonable invasion of the privacy. It may be noted that the Passport contains many other valuable information like Visas of other countries, evidences of visits abroad that may be necessary for the holder. Even if one keeps a photo-copy of the passport then also one will have to get it notarized to make it useful, in that case it involves cost and is an undue hardships to everyone. An author asked for Passport copy in connection with writing an article about Diaspora and an Immigrant's story. One would like to keep the passports for sentimental value of parents' memory.
The thought of cost of collecting millions and millions of passports issued in the past and the administrative machinery for collecting now is a gigantic task. Later this department will justify its continuance by coming up with how to trace the people who have not returned their passports! When we are trying to move towards paperless society, even the thought of use of the information from these returned passports plus its storage space, maintenance etc. is mind boggling. I failed to understand why Indian government has taken such a step.
In conclusion, I hope wiser counsel prevails and the government scrap this new rules.
Letter by:
Prakash Mody,
37 Tuscarora Drive,
North York, ON, M2H 2K4, Canada.
After the first announcement, the government only reduced the fees payable from US$175 to US$20 but many other provisions remain unchanged causing the undue hardships to all. If they needed any information for any reason from anyone then they can ask individually to that person for surrender of his/her old expired passport(s). Instead of this they are asking everyone to surrender their old Passports. No other Governments are doing such things. Even if it is to maintain secrecy or confidentiality for who is being investigated this step may have been taken, then also this should not be done retroactively. With this measure, the Indian government will collect back from the present living persons only. What about those who are no more!
This is like instead of getting an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate, changing the law of the need to get the magistrate's permission to issue an arrest warrant. After 60 years of freedom Indian administrative machinery is still not out of 'licences & controls' attitude of the British Raj days!
The Government can appreciate that the Passports were not provided gratis-free, everyone had paid the required amounts, without any choice or consideration of its affordability. Making every one to do so now is unfair - unreasonable invasion of the privacy. It may be noted that the Passport contains many other valuable information like Visas of other countries, evidences of visits abroad that may be necessary for the holder. Even if one keeps a photo-copy of the passport then also one will have to get it notarized to make it useful, in that case it involves cost and is an undue hardships to everyone. An author asked for Passport copy in connection with writing an article about Diaspora and an Immigrant's story. One would like to keep the passports for sentimental value of parents' memory.
The thought of cost of collecting millions and millions of passports issued in the past and the administrative machinery for collecting now is a gigantic task. Later this department will justify its continuance by coming up with how to trace the people who have not returned their passports! When we are trying to move towards paperless society, even the thought of use of the information from these returned passports plus its storage space, maintenance etc. is mind boggling. I failed to understand why Indian government has taken such a step.
In conclusion, I hope wiser counsel prevails and the government scrap this new rules.
Letter by:
Prakash Mody,
37 Tuscarora Drive,
North York, ON, M2H 2K4, Canada.
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