Prove you are Indian, woman seeking to go on Haj told

BAREILLY: A woman clerk at the district development office was asked to submit proof of her nationality when she sought the signature of a senior officer on her passport application, so she could proceed on the Haj. The woman was allegedly called a “Pakistani” and a “terrorist” by the officer. She has now lodged a complaint in the matter with the commissioner, the district magistrate and the chief development officer.
Shabana Bi, an Urdu translator working in the office of the district development officer (DDO), told TOI, “I had applied for a passport for proceeding on Haj along with my family. The staff at the regional passport office, Bareilly, asked me to submit proof of being a government employee on the prescribed format, which had to be countersigned by the head of the department. I asked the DDO for his signature. He then asked a clerk to bring him my service book to verify my period of service and date of joining. However, going through the details on the application form to attest my credentials as a government employee, he refused his signature, saying there was no column on nationality, and it would be hard for him to verify it.”
Shabana said the officer insisted on proof of her nationality before attesting her forms. The woman produced her voter identity card, PAN card, Aadhaar card and bank passbook. She has been a government servant for over 20 years. These documents, and her long service in the Indian government, however, failed to satisfy the DDO, who claimed that many people who were not Indian could obtain the documents illegally.
Unable to bear the humiliation, the woman expressed inability to produce anything else to prove she was indeed an Indian citizen. She protested that the passport office had already filled the column in her application form seeking details of her nationality, so there was no need for further proof.
“This is the country of my forefathers. I do not need to submit any more proof to satisfy the whims of one person,” she said.
The woman’s boldness drove the officer into a fit of rage, and he asked her to leave his chamber. “If you cannot prove your nationality, you are a Pakistani and a terrorist,” he yelled at her, leaving her dumbstruck.
When contacted by TOI, district development officer Shyam Kumar Singh denied the allegations: “I only sought details of her service and nationality from the service book. There was no intention to cause harassment.”
Chief development officer (CDO) Shiv Sahai Awasthi, however, admitted that there had been some differences. He said he was “verifying the matter from the concerned officer and staff”.