There’s One Obvious Problem With Orange Passports

The Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) notified on Saturday, January 12,  announced that migrant workers who need emigration check to travel to other countries would be issued orange passports.

This, according to various, will affect migrant workers in 17 countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.

Apart from that, the government has also decided to do away with the existing last page of the passport that bears the names of father, mother, spouse, address, and the category that highlights if the citizen falls in Emigration Check Required (ECR) or Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR).

“Passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required) status would be issued a passport with orange color passport jacket and those with non-ECR status would continue to get a blue passport,” MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said on Friday.

However, the government’s plan to supposedly 'save' migrant workers has only received flak from different quarters.

In the governments opinion, this will make immigration checks easier and more efficient, besides providing holders with help in foreign countries.

Legal experts do not confirm this viewpoint, they told Reuters that the colour change could increase the vulnerability of workers often duped by middlemen who promise them jobs. 

“You cannot divide people on the basis of educational qualifications; it’s discriminatory,” said S. Irudaya Rajan, professor at the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram in the southern state of Kerala told Reuters. 

Nitin Pai, director of Takshashila, a Bangalore-based public policy think tank, also feels that it is wrong to create different coloured passports for different kinds of travellers.

The announcement sparked a massive debate among Netizens and many slammed the government for its 'discriminatory step': 

Why India must reform the “emigration clearance” system and move to a voluntary register for protecting Indian workers abroad. Thread 👇🏽 https://t.co/qQtV2EvfAU

— Nitin Pai (@acorn) January 13, 2018

Treating India's migrant workers like second class citizens is completely unacceptable. This action demonstrates BJP’s discriminatory mindset.https://t.co/6iiOy2rPKC

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) January 14, 2018

Is there any rule that ministers in India should be educated ?? Or everybody have a degree from Gale University or else politicians who are uneducated turn their passport in orange color also #India #BJP #hypocrisy

— sameer ali (@sameer087) January 17, 2018

MEA #India decision to give orange color #Passport to unskilled workers seems a foolish act. This will clearly not benefit such citizens, instead they will be treated as second class citizens abroad. If you are doing this to eradicate discrimination find other solutions.

— Ajim (@Ajim_shah) January 16, 2018

And now these orange passports to segregate migrant workers. I wonder if kids giggle these days when they're taught that democracy is of the people, by the people, for the people.https://t.co/6cV8uhWgbT

— Chinmayi Arun (@chinmayiarun) January 15, 2018

So husband and wife could have different colours of passport based on education... children below 15 certainly will have orange passports...India is growing so well so quickly!

— Kenneth Lean (@kennethlean) January 16, 2018