Passport Saga IV

That's right. I still haven't got the passport. At least not the one I had hoped for.

What I did with the mistakes in the passport? On 24 July I had to apply again for reissue in tatkaal (faster service if you pay Rs. 2500). That's not it, I have to stand in line at 4:00 am in the queue with the online application printout and other documents at the new Passport Seva Kendra till 8:00 am for an appointment at 12:00 pm, since they only accept the first 30 applicants each day.

By 7:00 pm I got an acknowledgement form and was informed I should be getting the reissued passport in a week.

I get the passport on 11 Aug. Happy, only to find out that my father's name is corrected, but "Emigration Check Required" still not changed to "Emigration Check Not Required", meaning I cannot go to UAE for purposes other than visit.

Rushing back the same day at 3:00 pm to Passport Seva Kendra, I am assured that Regional Passsport Office, Koramangala, will correct it for me. So the next day I go and secure my spot at 6:00 am outside, to be allowed in at 10:30 am. There, by around 12:00 pm, after filling forms and writing letters I am assured the passport will be ready by 17 Aug.

All this just to get a simple passport with no spouse or child or family or any other complication.

Today it's 21 Aug, I still haven't got it. Ramzan season has started in UAE and I've been informed that I will have to wait to apply for visa till 9 Sept, when it ends.

Getting passport is the last chance India had (I hope) to be rude to me, and they have made the best use of it.

They have shown me clearly what kind of race I "belong" to. I truly understand now.