A passport to dreary sameness

It happens every year. The closer we get to Budget Day, the more we hear the words 8216;8216;liberalisation8217;8217; and 8216;8216;ec...

It happens every year. The closer we get to Budget Day, the more we hear the words 8216;8216;liberalisation8217;8217; and 8216;8216;economic reform8217;8217;. Politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, journalists 8212; we all participate in the annual chanting of these words and so they have become no more than a meaningless ritual. The ones who chant them loudest are new ministers who lack comprehension of their job but have learned that a liberal use of these words indicates that they are a part of India today and tomorrow, and not our centrally-planned yesterday.

In the din of collective chanting, we overlook the vital detail that despite the Prime Minister8217;s promise of changes in procedures and administration nothing has changed in the past six months. We plan to improve the physical infrastructure of our airports but nobody has noticed that airport procedures date back to the era when we thought filling endless forms was an indication of alert governance. There are few countries left in the world where immigration officers stamp the passports of returning citizens. In our country the procedure remains an elaborate ritual.

On the plane you get handed a landing card in which you fill in your flight number, passport number, date of birth and other details. Then you fill in a custom declaration in which you declare the number of bags you are carrying back.

When you land, you wait in a long queue at immigration and if you look around while the immigration officer is examining every detail of every visa in your passport you notice that there are people standing around and watching the immigration officer8217;s every move. Then you get to customs where we have the unique system of having your bags X-rayed at the end of a journey. Again there is a small army of men in white who simply stand and watch. You know by now, if you are a foreigner, that you enter a Third World country.

Luckily, foreigners need never to apply for an Indian passport or they would discover just how Third World we are. A passport is not a favour but the fundamental right of every citizen but the procedures involved are so convoluted that if a billion Indians decided to apply for passports we would have to call out the Army. Most countries require a single signature on a one-page form. Indians need to fill in a form that if every 8216;8216;annexure8217;8217; is counted becomes the size of a small pamphlet. Under the new 8216;8216;tatkaal8217;8217; scheme you are exempted a police inquiry but need the signature of a civil servant above the rank of joint secretary, plus a ration card, plus you need to write your signature at least twelve times and give your thumb impression three times. Since 8216;8216;tatkaal8217;8217; is available only to more privileged citizens, think of the absurdity of the ration card requirement. Why should anyone above the poverty line still need a ration card?

Why should a police inquiry be a requirement when in these computerised days a passport can be cancelled in a minute? How many ordinary Indians know an official above the rank of joint secretary?

Stupid, outdated, cumbersome procedures that cost taxpayers vast amounts of money are the leitmotif of Indian governance. Speaking of taxes, may I relate my own recent experience. I was under what the tax department calls a 8216;8216;routine scrutiny8217;8217; and as part of this procedure I was ordered to provide details like how many times I used my credit card in the year 2002 and how many trips I made abroad and proof of who paid for them. When I provided these details my accountant came back with more demands 8212; vouchers for travel, entertainment, books of accounts, cash books, ledgers, invoice files. I said I had never had a cash book or ledger in my life and did not know what an invoice file was but he told me gloomily that if I could not produce these things I would have to speak to someone higher up in the department. This eventually was the only way out. What I do not understand is why the Finance Ministry wastes so much time scrutinising those who pay taxes instead of trying to find out more about those who do not but are obviously rich enough to go on foreign holidays.

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Those of us who make a living out of a profession have a relatively easy time compared to those who try to do business in India. For businessmen, big and small, at every step of the way there is an obstacle in the form of an inspector who comes up with some stupid procedure or other that has, in his view, not been complied with. Of course, his view changes as soon as his palm is greased. Surely the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister know this?

Yet, new rules are made and the new rules have as many ambiguous areas as the old ones and the only people who benefit are corrupt officials. I understand that VAT will bring a whole new set of convoluted procedures one of which is the utterly senseless idea to tax stock and collect a refund later. Why tax stock in the first place?

I could go on and on but there is no point. The Prime Minister promised in one of his first press conferences that there would be a serious attempt to make governance more citizen friendly. Nothing has changed. Would he like to tell us why? Meanwhile, next time you hear someone say 8216;8216;liberalisation8217;8217; or 8216;8216;economic reform8217;8217;, recognise it for what it really is. Jargon.

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