{"id":231,"date":"2026-06-26T07:29:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T07:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viraltaks.com\/?p=231"},"modified":"2026-06-26T07:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T07:29:58","slug":"there-are-many-ways-to-feel-like-an-outsider-mine-began-with-passport-verification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viraltaks.com\/?p=231","title":{"rendered":"There are many ways to feel like an outsider. Mine began with passport verification"},"content":{"rendered":"

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?<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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\u00a0passport verification experience<\/a>, which, in hindsight, felt more like an interrogation than a routine verification.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

However, most of my documents\u2014my Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID, Class X certificate and other records\u2014still 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the MEA said passports are only travel documents, I was reminded of my police verification that turned into an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\nThere are many ways to feel like an outsider. 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