There are many ways to feel like an outsider. Mine began with passport verification

After the MEA said passports are only travel documents, I was reminded of my police verification that turned into an interrogation over my nationality. If a passport is just a travel document, how do you justify the cumbersome process to get one?

That was my first thought after the Ministry of External Affairs recently clarified that a passport is nothing more than a travel document and not proof of citizenship. The statement instantly took me back to my own passport verification experience, which, in hindsight, felt more like an interrogation than a routine verification.

I recently got my passport, and the journey was anything but straightforward. For context, I am originally from Siliguri, West Bengal. For the last decade, however, Delhi has been my home. It is where I work, built a career and, eventually, got married.

However, most of my documents—my Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID, Class X certificate and other records—still carried my Siliguri address. For years, that alone was enough reason for me to postpone applying for a passport. I knew the process required address verification, and since I didn’t have sufficient proof of residence in Delhi, I assumed my application would be rejected.