Passports have been in the news recently. Lalit Modi, an Indian businessman living in London, recently got the passport of the island nation of Vanuatu. The country, is located 2,394 km east of Cairns, Australia. It has a thriving paid passport program. Media reports have highlighted that the country finances approximately a third of its budget by selling passports. In addition to Vanuatu, at least 18 other countries allow individuals to acquire their citizenship and passport by paying for it. Scores of countries, including the USA, offer opportunities to live and work to individuals who make sizeable investments in the country. As for Lalit Modi, the Vanuatu government soon cancelled his passport after adverse media attention.
At the time of independence, state governments had the authority to issue passports as there was no centralised system. It created problems, as individuals, against whom there were adverse reports in one state or with the central government, applied for and secured passports in a different state
This passport booklet, while small, is immensely powerful. Possessing the passport of a particular country identifies its citizens and gives them an easier passage to other countries. Granting or denying this document raises fundamental questions about rights, identity, and citizenry. For India, with its complex history, the passport is another lens through which we can look at our nation’s journey. A 100 plus years before India became independent, there were processes for regulating the entry and exit of traders, pilgrims, and labourers from the territory of India.
