more-inThe government announced that citizens whose passports carry the stamp ‘Emigration Check Required’ (ECR) will hold orange passports, while those who don’t require emigration checks will carry dark blue passports. In response, the Ministry of External Affairs has decided that it will no longer be printing the name of the spouse/father/legal guardian on the last page of passports. While the government’s decision addresses the concerns raised by these women and children, it will have devastating consequences for others. ECR passport-holders are those who, among other things, have not passed their matriculation examination or are not income tax payees. Each of these serves as a reminder for everything that a democracy like ours cannot have any space for.

Source: The Hindu January 22, 2018 18:45 UTC