Passports: Evolution and Features

• Context(IE): The recent film ‘Dunki’ focuses on the issue of immigration and the history of passports.

Indian Passport

• For the first time, under the Defence of India Act 1915, possessing a passport for leaving and entering India was compulsory. Later, the Indian Passport Act of 1920 was passed.
• In 1952, old passports were revoked. New Indian passports were granted only to “respectable” people.
• The Supreme Court in the Satwant Singh Sawhney vs D. Ramarathnam case (1967) ruled that every citizen had the right to a passport. Subsequently, the Indian Passport Act 1967 was passed.
• A passport is proof of address as well as citizenship.

Types of Indian Passport

• Ordinary Passport (P-type): A dark blue cover passport is issued to ordinary citizens for private travel, such as vacation, study and business trips.
• Official Passport (S-type): A white cover passport is issued to individuals representing the Government of India on official business, including members of the Indian Armed Forces stationed abroad.
• Diplomatic Passport (D-type): A maroon cover passport is issued to Indian diplomats, Members of Parliament (MPs), members of the Union Council of Ministers, certain high-ranking government officials and diplomatic couriers, and their dependents.
• Diplomatic and official passports are now issued as ePassports (Biometric).

Other features of the Indian Passport

• All passports contain a note from the President of India to allow safe passage to Indian citizens.
• The language allowed on the passport is Hindi and English only.
• India secures 80^th rank on the Henley Passport Index 2023.