Renewing Indian passport a nightmare in Bangkok
Thirteen years ago I paid 500 rupees (Bt263) for my passport in India, which incredibly was delivered in five hours. Ten years ago I paid Bt1,000 to renew it in Bangkok, receiving it three days later.
Recently, the Indian embassy outsourced the work to a private firm owned by an Indian politician belonging to Sonia Gandhi’s National Congress party. Yesterday I went to its crowded office, where even standing was a nightmare. I was told to pay Bt2,845 (5,400 rupees), which included an implausible Bt60 charge for notification by SMS, and to wait for a minimum 10 days before collecting my passport. Compare this with India, where renewal of a passport costs only 1,500 rupees. In Bangkok, inefficiency and bureaucratic delay means I am paying considerably more.
I wonder where this extra money is going. Could it perhaps be going into the pocket of the politician? Or is it going to embassy officials who prefer to send their children to British and American schools with Bt1-million annual tuition rather than to Thai-Indian institutions such as the Thai Sikh International School or the Modern International School, where Indian culture and languages are taught?
Am I one of those unfortunate souls indirectly financing the education of the kids of embassy officials who prefer to style themselves Americans or Britons rather than lowly Indians?
Concerned Indian
