Stamped by fear

From the days of the British Raj the police in India have wielded enormous powers, both legal as well as not so legal. It is no wonder then, that our failures in the fields of internal security and law enforcement remain a major handicap to greater progress within the country. But the case of the state police deciding to impose conditions on passports issued by the Central government must be unique even in our history. The stamping of passports of young Kashmiris as valid for all countries 8216;8216;Except Pakistan8217;8217; is bizarre. The very first question that arises is whether the state police had the jurisdiction to do so. The Additional DIG CID of J038;K may undoubtedly have his concerns about young people going to Pakistan being brainwashed. But the answer to that does not lie in the type of action undertaken by the J038;K authorities.

Tampering with the passport issued by the Government of India itself is an offence. One wonders whether stamping the passports without Central government authority does not constitute a violation of national laws. Normally the MEA decides at the highest levels to place restrictions on passports and their validity to particular countries, as used to be the case of Indian passports not being valid for South Africa during the apartheid days. In this case the Home Ministry might have been expected to issue instructions to deal with the type of concerns expressed by the J038;K police. But the Minister of State for Home has clearly stated that no such instructions have been issued. Equally important is the question: Why did the Passport Officer in Srinagar abide by the police instructions? As an officer of the MEA, he or she is answerable to superiors in the MEA. And hence the MEA becomes party to the act and it must now come forth with an explanation and follow-up action.

These issues of technical procedure have to be answered. However, this episode raises extremely unsettling questions about the government8217;s coordination mechanisms on policy issues. Remember, not so long ago India put forth a proposal to open a road link between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. Bilateral movement has been reported on that issue, inspiring demands for another link between Jammu and Sialkot. This attempt to put curbs in hassle-free travel to Pakistan and back, therefore, is mystifying. It betrays unnecessary paranoia about magnanimous peace overtures that are starting to gather momentum. Certainly, there must be no complacency over cross-border terrorism. Alas, terrorists are not known to apply for visas and run through customs checks with their weapons on them.