The real value of India’s passport

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Editor's note: When Oscar Wilde was first entering the United States, he supposedly told customs: “I have nothing to declare but my genius.” That was 1882; the Irish playwright’s wit had no known repercussions. But in 2021, it’s not a good idea to joke around with immigration officers. Getting a visa is so difficult, there are special temples and holy men in India that offer divine intervention. If you get one, be prepared to be pulled from the immigration queue for additional questions. If you have an Indian passport, it won’t help even if you’re Shah Rukh Khan. Amit Shah doesn’t think so. On 16 October, the home minister declared that Narendra Modi had “enhanced the value” of Indian passports over his seven-year prime ministership. “Now when you show the Indian passport, foreign officials smile and ask if you have come from the country of Modi,” Shah said. We fact-checked him. And the hollowness of Shah’s claims quickly revealed itself. Between 2014 and 2019, India’s ranking fell from 76 to 82 on Henley’s Passport Index. The COVID-19 pandemic only made it worse, …