India
India: Passport officer asks Hindu-Muslim couple to convert, External Affairs Minister steps in
The officer told Tanvi that she should not have married Anas and that she should change her name and religion
An inter-faith couple hailing from Noida, Uttar Pradesh who had visited the local passport office claimed, in a series of tweets, that they faced harassment at the hands of a passport officer, who had asked the woman to change her name and religion. The woman, Tanvi Sethi, had then took to Twitter to complain to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and request for her intervention in the matter.
@SushmaSwaraj hello ma’am I type this tweet with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of anger / hurt and agony in my heart because of the way I was treated at the Lucknow passport office at Ratan Square by Mr. Vikas Mishra the reason because I marri 1/2
— Tanvi Seth (@tanvianas) June 20, 2018
@SushmaSwaraj 2/2 married a Muslim and not changed my name ever. He spoke to me very rudely and was loud enough for others to hear while discussing my case. I have never felt so harassed ever before. The other workers at the office acknowledged his rude demeanour.
— Tanvi Seth (@tanvianas) June 20, 2018
Tanvi,who is married to Mohammad Anas Siddiqui for 12 years had applied for a new passport while he had applied for a renewal. After the initial processing, they were called for an interview on June 20 in Ratan Square, Lucknow. The officer allegedly involved , Vikas Mishra in the tweet, had told her that there was a ‘glitch’ since she was married to a Muslim yet she did not possess a Muslim name. He then went on to say that she should not have married Anas and that she should change her name and her religion.
When she burst into tears and insisted that she would not, he asked her to meet the Assistant Police Officer (APO). While she had gone to meet the officer, Vikas had shouted at the husband and demanded that he change his religion, reported The Wire andNDTV. He further went on to say that ‘one of them had to change their name and religion’.
The APO had responded to their grievance sympathetically and said that there had been several similar cases with the aforementioned officer before. Other employees in the office had also encouraged her to report the misbehavior as the officer was known for such acts, she reported.
“It is absolutely harrowing, insulting and demeaning when your case is being discussed loudly enough for other applicants to hear and laugh,” she said.
The Ministry of External Affiars replied promptly to the incident, with the couple being handed their new passport on Thursday morning.
As promised, Regional Passport Officer met Mrs Tanvi and Mr Anas and redressed the concern today. Passports have been delivered. @CPVIndia pic.twitter.com/a9xHrsmqQr
— RPO Lucknow (@rpolucknow) June 21, 2018
In response to the allegations against Mishra, a show cause notice had been issued and appropriate action would ensue accordingly.
“We hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else. In 11 years of marriage, we never faced this. Officials later apologized to us and we got our passports,” she said.
