v Title: The color of inequity
(The government should rethink its decision to issue orange passports for those requiring emigration checks)
• The 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.
• Certain sections of women, and children with single parents have made a strong case against the name of the spouse/father being mentioned in the passport.
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. In fact, the last page will be left blank.
• ECR passport-holders are those who, among other things, have not passed their matriculation examination or are not income tax payees.
• A majority are likely to belong to a minority or marginalised community from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• To prevent the exploitation of such unskilled workers when they are employed in certain parts of the world, an ECR stamp is made on their passports.
• For, every time the orange passport will be used at airports around the world, it will not only shout out that Indians have reneged on a core promise laid out in the Preamble of the Constitution — “to secure to all its citizens equality of status and of opportunity” — but will also separate and stigmatise a set of citizens for their poverty.
Final Words
Can the world’s largest democracy allow a document, issued in the name of its President, to divide it on the basis of economic or social capital?
Vocabulary words:
- Inequity --- lack of fairness or justice (अन्याय)
- Devastating --- Highly destructive or damaging (भयानक)
- Exploitation --- Ill-treatment (शोषण)
- Renege --- Go back on a promise (मुकर जाना)
- Stigmatise --- Describe or regard as worthy of disgrace
- or great disapproval (निन्दित करना)
- Replete --- Filled or well-supplied with something (परिपूर्ण)
- Thrive --- Prosper; flourish (कामयाब होना)
- Magnanimous --- Generous or forgiving (उदार)
- Palpable --- Visible, noticeable (प्रत्यक्ष)
- Strive --- Make great efforts to achieve or obtain something (प्रयास करना)
- Vehemence --- Enthusiasm, zeal (उत्साह)
- Amnesty --- An official pardon for people (आम माफ़ी)
- Enormity --- A grave crime or sin (दुष्टता)
- Constrain --- Compel to follow a particular course of action (विवश)
- Mangle --- Destroy or severely damage by tearing or crushing (नष्ट करना)
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