My Experiments with the "Indian Passport System"..

I write this lovely handsome column to unravel all the travail I underwent ere getting my passport issued to me !

[Statutory Warning] : The column being lengthy demands lot of patience !

It was Dec '06 when I dreamt of applying for an 'INDIAN PASSPORT', much unaware of the consequences and challenges i would be faced with. Before proceeding further, I here's a succinct run through my profile.

Name : Parameswaran R
Born : Kolar Gold Fields (Karnataka)
Native : Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu)
Education (Till X) : Various Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas (Arunachal Pradesh)
Education (XI-XII) : DAV-BHEL School Ranipet (Tamil Nadu)
Post-Graduation : PSG College of Technology (Tamil Nadu)

The Passport Application demands two proofs to be attached namely :
* Proof of Identity (Birth Certif, X/XII MSheet)
* Proof of Address (Ration Card, Bank Pass Book, Voters ID,..)

Episode 1: On 16 Dec '06, I arrived at the Passport Office, Coimbatore and got the particulars filled/attached. As matter of fact, these places demand great deal of forethought. If you realize the absence of a document, a photo to be attested, Xerox copies, etc there's no way you can come back & apply the same day, after being eliminated from the queue. After couple of hours, I neared the certificate verification counter & I was palpitating rapidly with skepticism on the outcome. The fellow present there glanced over the documents and uttered "Idhu enna pa ? Hostel address laam kudukka koodadhu !! " (translation: hostel address shall not be accepted), I told him my parents were temporarily serving in Arunachal Pradesh and they are not supposed to present it as their Permanent address. "No, go away & come here with proper documents" - was the firm reply. It seemed that he spoke only 2 sentences per day and expected no further questions. I was frustrated to the core as it was this office which gave me information to furnish my hostel-address with relevant proof. "Forget it.." - I convinced myself and returned with a dozen photocopies of filled passport forms & documents which were rejected.

Episode 2: Since it was getting hard for me to find a proper address at Tamil Nadu, I chose to fill in 'Kolar Gold Fields', my place of birth (Karnataka) as the permanent address.
"Should work out well this time" - I thought. After repeating the same procedure that can be summed up in as few verbs as "fill-in/affix/xerox/queue", I lined up at the counter. My man barked "Karnataka address-laam aagaadu pa, it is OTHER-STATE, apply there, go go !" (translation: Karnataka state addresses shall not be accepted). This was too much to bear. I couldn't believe that 'Indian Passport System' was so devastatingly De-CENTRALIZED !!

Episode 3: It was March ' 07 by now & I had an important exam ahead which demanded a Passport urgently. I had no choice now but to apply through "TATKAAL". Popular comments poured in - "Tatkaal-la apply panna just 1 week-la passport kaeyukku vandudum", "Police Verificationnae irukkadu, passport direct-a vandudom"! (translation: If you apply via the tatkal procedure, you will receive the passport within a week, avoiding any police verification that normally happens!). Having decided thus to go by Tatkaal I started enquiries about the procedure.

As per the rules of Passport Application via TATKAAL, following are mandatory documents :
* A Verification Certificate, from a officer of high rank employed in Central-Govt or
of a exceedingly high public business concern
* An affidavit from a lawyer, stating acceptance of certain terms & conditions
* Proofs of Address and Identity

To my profound surprise, even the passport office at Coimbatore gave me contradicting explanations. Some said no such Verification Certificate was required, that the Passport Regulation has been relaxed and henceforth. Another hindrance here was that the Tatkaal applications are not accepted by the office at Coimbatore, one had go all the way to The Regional Passport Office, Chennai. Irked with the response at the office, I decided not to depend on the Passport office for enquiries and learned from some of my friends that a 'Verification Certificate' was indeed mandatory.

Now, where do I get this certificate from ? As per the instructions on the form, only officers of the following rank were authorized to issue the above said letter.
* DSP/SP/DIG/IG
* Colonel (in service)
* Officer in the rank of Chief Secretary/Chief Advisor to the Central Govt
* Minister of Cabinet (Central) Rank
* Sub-Divisional Magistrate/First-Grade District Judge
* General Mangers of Public Sectors

And the certificate was a crucial one in determining my life thereafter. It was issued as a favor (not as obligation) only if the above officer was well-acquainted with the candidate & the background of his family.

I spent the next few weeks wandering across all prominent offices at Coimbatore, "DSP ", "SP", "District Tahsildar", "RTO" and several more, hunting for a remote possibility to get a certificate issued. I tried also through many influential people. I was desperate to get it done at any cost of money. Demands at all corners ranged from Rs 2000/- to 8000/-, just for a single certificate !! But all ended up in the drain. The primary reason stated everywhere was that :
* I had undergone my education at numerous places, so people were reluctant to
accept.
* If I was found indulgent in any issue later on(after acquiring the passport), the
officer responsible for the Verification Certificate would be
prosecuted(irrespective of his rank!!) and this would blacken his career.
* My permanent address at Karnataka posed as great problem.
* Recent serial blasts at Coimbatore, caused the significant authorities to follow
strict rules and not issue unwarranted certificates to anyone.

"Damn it.. !!!" - it was after 2 weeks of continuous labour just before my semester exams that I concluded - "This was not going to work anyway !" And I had to either quit or figure out a better way. My semester exams were about to commence, with meagre days of holidays left.

Episode 4: I decided the OTHER-STATE issue was going to wreck me constantly, so I resorted to apply in Karnataka. Reaching Kolar Gold Fields(KGF)-(Karnataka) on April 11, I gathered a passport-agent "Jambu", to file in the application at the Regional Passport Office, Bangalore. I had to seek his help because of the very less time left before my exam.
Never did I know Jambu would emerge as the source of a bunch of grim situations later. He said he had a good rapport with the concerned authorities at Bangalore & that I would receive the passport within a span of 10 days. "Relieved at last!!" - thought I, but there was more to ensue.
Me semester exams ended & then followed a college trip. I hoped that my New-Passport would await me @ my birthtown !!

Episode 5: I returned from my trip on May 9 and headed to KGF, where I was told that as the Passport Office at Bangalore was being shifted to a new place, my application could be filed only on April 30 and hence the police verification documents were pending. I could feel myself losing my temper. But I decided to wait. Days passed by, it was May 15 and there was no trace of any police verification happening around. Jambu had messed up with the entire system. The documents for Police-Verification had been dispatched at the Passport Office @ Bangalore, but lost midway !! It was an additional burden for me then to follow up the entire process chain to see if anything had been overlooked anywhere, but I could find no trace of the missing papers.

It was already May 20, and I had to procure the passport soon. There was only one way out now - "To hasten the already applied procedure through Tatkaal..". This meant that though I had applied by the normal procedure initially, I could convert the application into Tatkaal (by remitting the additional amount) and get the passport issued in a short time. Judging that this was the only feasible solution now, I started looking around for the same dignified strata of officers to issue me a 'Verification Certificate', this time me being in Karnataka, denial was next to impossible !

Through known sources, I managed to get a Verification Certificate(VC) from the First-Grade Judge at KGF, I also prepared an affidavit. The VC had to be issued by the concerned officer in his official stationery (Letter Head,etc..) and a photocopy of his Identity Card had to be attached. All these were completed except that the judge declined to type into a Letter-Head saying that judges weren't supposed to use Letter-Heads(doing so being an offence under Law). So, the VC was typed in a green-paper(the officially used stationery at court). Thus, things seemed to be getting solved so far, but not yet, not yet !!

Now, I had to apply at the Regional Passport Office, Bangalore in person with the VC, affidavit & other docs, paying the additional Tatkaal fees of Rs 1500/-. I had to leave to Coimbatore for some work the day before and hence arrived at the Passport Office, Bangalore on May 22 to complete the work.

I was told that this was the new building at Koramangala, shifted from M.G Road. The building seemed new and impressive indeed, but I was shocked to see the infinitely-long queue (hyperbole regretted, it was about 600-700 mts)outside it. There were people on both sides of the building lined up right from as early as 5.30 am. As I stood in the queue for Tatkaal, I was surprised by a two police constables who demanded 200 rupees from a man & made him stand right at the front of the queue ! This was followed by another transaction in which the constable got the documents/application & went in to file in by himself, in exchange for a sum of 800 rupees. People in the queue were undoubtedly annoyed with these acts, but there was little that anyone could do.

After an hour or so of queue-dwelling, the counters were permitted access and I got a token issued for my Tatkaal form. I entered the building then, waiting for my # to be summoned and gathering all my prayers rushed to the examination counter. A lady there checked my VC & Affidavits. And she remarked - "Where s the letter head on the VC ? We can't accept VC s in such a form.. Did u check the instructions ?" I was petrified ! Yet another hurdle.. I tried to explain her that it was a judge who issued the VC & he wasn't supposed to use any letter-head, but she remained adamant and argued violently. I resigned from the counter dejected & tried to meet the Public Relations Officer(PRO) for enquiries. I found a constable there as well, allowing only those to meet the PRO whose VC had been approved. I thought I had to get in illegally & so dashed in avoiding being noticed. The PRO listened to my plight patiently but said - "I am sorry, even judges do use letter-heads.. Please get a fresh one !" And so the day ended in turmoil !!

I was mentally out of lane, not knowing what to do now. To get another VC on a letter-head was impossible, for the Judge had clearly stated that issuing any such content was illegal & would endanger his career & subsequently mine as well. And so, to find another person to issue a VC was ineluctable now. The next day, as a matter of luck, few officers from BEML(Bharat Earth Movers Limited) arrived to meet the judge on account of their personal errand. And the judge promptly introduced them to me & asked them if their GM (General Manager) could grant a VC. The people agreed & in an hour I was at the BEML Administrative office, lined up to meet the GM. After dozens of questions on my private affairs and the proof of urgency for passport, a VC was prepared, but it wasn't on the GM's letterhead, rather on the normal BEML company letterhead !!!! I knew this had to be clarified then & there and asked the people , but to my ill-luck GM's LetterHeads were locked up somewhere & the concerned people were on leave. "Tough luck" - I thought, hoping this would suffice & create no further problems at the Passport Office. I went in to meet the GM in person who asked couple of questions about me & then signed the VC, giving me the photocopies of his identity card.

Off I went the next day to Bangalore, this time prudent enough to line up well-ahead in the queue. I underwent a series of procedures all of which were a replica of what happened on the day-of-denial(of VC). To my utter astonishment, everything seemed to go fine & I paid the tatkaal fees, got the receipt in my hand, which stated the date of issue of passport as May 29 (by hand). "But my boy !! Not yet", yelled my fortune deity - "you are not yet done !". As I inspected the receipt more closely, I grew ferocious. My name was incompletely printed devoid of the surname. "So, was it going to carry over to the passport as well ? This would make things still arduous". I called up Jambu and blasted out at him for his "meticulous" work ! He persisted saying - "Saar, passport-la correct-a varum saar ! Neenga worry pannadinga" (translation: Sir, you don't have to worry, it would be printed correctly in your passport), but I wasnt convinced. I glanced at the Passport's database & found my surname missing there. It was evident that my wise agent had demonstrated sheer negligence while filing in the application. As a matter of fact, it was not Jambu who had filed in the application directly but sent it across through another travel agent at Bangalore. "Oh my goodness, this ignorant drone was a SUB-SUB-AGENT then !!" I left to Coimbatore that night warning Jambu a dozen times of the problems if passport got printed incorrectly & told him to make the change by himself or through the concerned travel agents.

It was the May 29 & I arrived at the Passport Office, Jambu promising me heavily & earnestly that the name issue had been resolved. The dispatch of passports was done in the afternoon (after 3 pm) and the recepients had to wait inside a hall where they were called out by names. After an hour or so, my name was called "Parameswaran Raman !!" I was excited ("Jambu has indeed done it!!") and rushed to get the passport. I opened it ("I must admit it was a great feeling.."), and behold !! The details ran over as :

Surname : ---------------
Given Name : Parameswaran

I was beyond my senses to react. "Jambu, yet again proved himself !". I called him up & demanded explanation. He said that the Travel agents have mis-entered the name in the application form. Not willing to depend on Jambu anymore, the next day, I decided to file in a Passport FORM-II (which is meant for any corrections to be made in the passports already issued) by myself. Had the mistake been on the part of Passport Office, I could have got the passport replaced for free, but since it was an incorrect entry in the application form, I was charged an additional 500/- for the surname to be added(in a fresh passport ofcourse!).
Completing these formalities, I received my new receipt stating a fresh passport would be dispatched in 15 days. "Fifteen days !!!!" - was too long. They said the tatkaal status was not valid now. If I needed to hasten the process, another Tatkaal Application (1500/-, VC, Affidavit,etc..) would be required.I chose not to spend any more money & called up Jambu to get my passport moved out in a day or two. Following his repeated excuses, I then decided to meet the travel agent in Bangalore.

And so, it was two of us, Jambu and me, who sped to the Travel Agent's office at Coles Park, Bangalore. The agent there took out his records & showed me that he had filled in the name exactly as Jambu had mentioned in his paper. So, accusation flowed onto Jambu at all ends, mine being the worst. I yelled at him for all the mental agony he had caused, he was speechless. He asked the Travel Agent if he could help. But, the agent had an explanation. "You should have come to me immediately when you realized the passport was incorrectly printed. I could have got it right then. But you dint, so I am helpless". I was adamant that something be done. The agent then agreed to move out the passport, in not less than 5 days with an extra sum of 700/-.
I was confident of not rolling out a penny to the agent. "What goes out now must flow out of Jambu's pocket" - I thought. The agent then agreed, I made Jambu pay the amount and left the office.

Seven days passed by & there was no trace of any speedpost anywhere. I grew impatient and growled at Jambu helter-skelter, upon which I was told the passport had been speed-posted and would arrive in a day or two.

And, "alas it happened !!!". I got my passport in a healthy state & with proper nomenclature inside. The Passport office had also mailed me my old (cancelled) one.

These few days of ordeal led me to all major corridors of the Indian Passport Application Process and I am tempted to title it as "My Experiments.."