Speaking in a matter-of-factly manner, it is raining for a few days.Possible respite to the drought affected.All over the deccan plateau to be precise.And i volunteered to be a seargeant-at-arms, at my friends request, to help him apply for a passport(read standing in queue of the passport office accompanying him).A passport to travel internationally.You can strike this venture of mine as a most singular case of travesty. Well as i have come to know,now, it would be a particular pleasure of mine to rather be sitting on a bed of cactus(for only a second though) than be part off such a bureaucratical spinoff as the passport office.
Now you see,excepting the ration card, all other proofs( prescribed by the Govt such as PAN,electricity bill,election card etc etc) have more or less been applied by the applicant to prove that the said person is indian.A gas bill or an arms license is not worth its weight in gold to the applicant if it isnt accepted as a resident or an indentity proof.But the passport is undoubtedly the only real 'king' of proofs in the indian system to 'suggest'that you are indian (unless you are some superspy or terrorists with multiple passports of multiple countries).Thus all the other proofs are apparently skewed in its sense of heirarchy at passport office.
With that background, I'm in a comfy position to illustrate the intricacies of the passport issuing division in numbered fashion-
1)We start on a positive note.Ever heard the saying,at the god's doorstep,everyone is of equal importance?
Similarly, at the issuing office,everyone has equal importance.No one is higher than the offical.And no one is important..
2)Apparently on a less crowded day,it would take just about less than 2 hours to get inside the office..queue or not..
3)If you can actually comprehend this,the address on the bank statement of a private bank is considered a do-able proof as compared to producing a valid driver's license.Most probably a road transport office official may have broken a passport officials' nose during a party of beer.
4)Those born on or after 26th of january 1989,have to compulsurily produce a birth-certificate as a proof of your indian identity.A domicile or school leaving certificate wont do.Also probably some important education and domicile division officials pinched the passport official at the above said beer party.
5)As was not known to us, an affidavit on a stamp paper stating one's birth in absence of his birth certificate,will not hold water as a case in the courts, because the affidavit has such a thing as 'non- judicial' written on it.What it needs, as a noble lawyer in the queue told us, was a 'registered' stamp paper.
That one holds forte in indian courts.By the end of that procedure, I and my exhausted friend almost fell on
the ground( It seems the passport official accept the non judicial version of affidavit.The lawyer as it turned out was not a noble man).
6)One attains a certain degree of bliss(read patience) and is able to harness the flow of the universe(read staple together,print,glue your photo and keep all documents in order) once you end up in the never ending queue of the office.
7)The actual heirarchy of importance accorded to the proof's required to be shown to obtain the passport is generally a mystery.Even to the passport official.
8)Be sure of one fact applicant! on completing all prerequisites of the application process,guarantee to obtain the passport is not guaranteed.
9)Lastly,be sure of one thing.Helping a friend in the monsoon for such a draconian purpose lands one at home.With a headache,cold and strepsils..
