Stop focusing on passports

Herersquos something to consider this week given that there isnrsquot anything else of particular importance happening around us the strength of a countryrsquos passport is a significant metric used by many to measure its soft power That piece of information was tacked on to a report about how India slipped a rank down from last year to occupy the 85th spot on the Henley Passport Index for 2024 If this sounds like a joke I assure you that itrsquos notThe Index has been around for almost two decades apparently and is based on data from the International Air Transport Authority It tracks 199 passports and 227 travel destinations and considers itself the lsquostandard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrumrsquo To cut a long report short it says that the world isnrsquot accepting everything wersquove been told about how amazing we areI spent a bit of time looking through the report and what I found was shocking For instance I was appalled to find out that citizens of Uzbekistan Benin Mozambique Mongolia and Zimbabwe all had more powerful passports than the citizens of India do How could this be I asked myself repeatedly given that we were being governed by the Worldrsquos Most Popular Leader Even sworn enemy Pakistanrsquos position at 106 did little to assuage the anger I felt towards what was obviously a deeply biased report How could Rwanda rank four spots higher How could Uganda be at 77 and Papua New Guinea at 65 Did the people behind the Henley Index not get the memo about how India is now almost soon pretty much ready to be a global superpower within the next six seven eight or nine decadesThe index pointed out that Indian passport holders could now travel visafree to 62 countries which made me happy until I saw that passport holders from Spain Singapore Japan Italy Germany and France were granted access to 194 countries This meant 132 countries had yet to realise that New India 20 was real and on the cusp of world dominationI checked local newspapers to see if the honourable government of India or the most honourable Prime Minister of India had launched a public relations campaign to address this lack of awareness but there were only the usual reports about religious intolerance or protests by a few disgruntled farmers I believe a campaign to address this state of ignorance will be launched soon though because it has been almost two days since I last saw the Prime Ministerrsquos photograph displayed prominently in a public setting If this isnrsquot what we should be paying taxes for what isIt took a few days for my anger and disbelief to subside after which I began to question the need for a passport index Should we really use this travel document as a sign of how well a country is doing or how it is perceived by the rest of the world Everyone knows that Indian travellers are the worldrsquos bestbehaved so why should we worry about countries that insist on Indian passportholders obtaining a visa Who cares if 132 countries donrsquot accord us the same level of respect as 62 other countries Shouldnrsquot we focus on more important parameters such as how India has the worldrsquos tallest statue or is now the worldrsquos most populous countryMore importantly given that just 72 per cent of Indian citizens possessed a valid passport a year ago shouldnrsquot we ignore this report entirely and focus on more positive developments such as how well two or three Indian businessmen from Gujarat have been doing lately I believe itrsquos all about prioritiesI intend to ignore the Henley Index from now on and urge you to do the same If you must travel abroad pick a place that welcomes you or do what many residents of Punjab and Gujarat do and find an ldquoagentrdquo who can get you there I have a feeling the Index will soon lose all meaning anyway because India is turning into the kind of country no one wants to leave and everyone wants to visit In a few years citizens from countries across North America and Europe will beg for an opportunity to give up their weak passports for an Indian one Until that happens I also urge the government to launch its own Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Passport Index and award India the number one slotWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He tweets lindsaypereiraSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper