A political and legal argument has started regarding whether an Indian passport is final proof of citizenship, following recent statements from the Ministry of External Affairs.

隨著印度外交部最近的聲明，關於印度護照是否為公民身分的最終證明，已引起一場政治與法律上的爭論。

The current disagreement began when the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that an Indian passport is mainly a travel document and not final evidence of nationality. Government officials emphasized that this view follows existing laws, specifically Section 20 of the Passports Act of 1967, which allows the government to give travel documents to non-citizens if it is in the public interest. Furthermore, they pointed to a 2013 Bombay High Court ruling and the Citizenship Act of 1955, which explain that citizenship depends on specific eligibility and evidence rather than just one document.

目前的分歧始於印度外交部 (MEA) 指出，印度護照主要是一份旅行文件，而非國籍的最終證據。政府官員強調，此觀點符合現行法律，特別是 1967 年《護照法》第 20 條，該條款允許政府在符合公共利益的情況下，向非公民發行旅行文件。此外，他們還提到 2013 年孟買高等法院的裁決以及 1955 年的《公民法》，解釋公民身分取決於特定的資格與證據，而非僅憑單一文件。

On the other hand, opposition members, such as Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor, argue that this situation creates a legal contradiction. Tharoor asserted that because passports are issued only after strict police checks and document reviews, it is illogical that they do not prove citizenship. He also noted that the Supreme Court considers the Aadhaar card as proof of identity and address, but not citizenship, which leaves many people in an uncertain position. Consequently, Tharoor suggests changing the law so that both passports and Aadhaar cards are accepted as final proof of citizenship, as long as they have not been cancelled.

另一方面，如國會議員 Shashi Tharoor 等反對黨成員則認為，這種情況造成了法律矛盾。Tharoor 主張，由於護照是在經過嚴格的警方檢查和文件審查後才發出的，若稱其不能證明公民身分是不合邏輯的。他還指出，最高法院將 Aadhaar 卡視為身分與地址證明，而非公民證明，這使得許多人處於不確定的狀態。因此，Tharoor 建議修改法律，只要未被取消，護照與 Aadhaar 卡都應被接納為公民身分的最終證明。

To solve the problem that Aadhaar is based on residency rather than nationality, Tharoor proposed creating a visually different Aadhaar card for non-citizen residents. This change would allow the state to accept the standard Aadhaar or passport as sufficient proof of nationality, making it easier to verify identities and update voter lists. Although the government claims these concerns are exaggerated, the Election Commission still accepts the passport as one of twelve valid documents for voter eligibility.

為了解決 Aadhaar 是基於居住地而非國籍的問題，Tharoor 建議為非公民居民建立視覺上有所區分的 Aadhaar 卡。這項改變將允許國家接納標準的 Aadhaar 或護照作為足夠的國籍證明，使核實身分與更新選民名單更加便捷。儘管政府聲稱這些憂慮被誇大了，但選舉委員會仍將護照列為十二種有效選民資格證明文件之一。

The government continues to argue that passports do not prove citizenship, whereas opposition members are calling for legal changes to give these documents official status.

政府繼續主張護照不能證明公民身分，而反對黨成員則要求修改法律，賦予這些文件正式地位。