Hindu-Muslim couple asked to convert for passport; Sushma Swaraj steps in

A passport official in Lucknow has been transferred after a woman complained to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that he asked her Muslim husband to change his 'name and religion' to get a passport.

Tanvi Seth and her husband Anas Siddiqui addressed a press conference on Thursday morning to thank Swaraj and her ministry, and showed their new passports as proof that action was taken on her complaint.

A day earlier Seth had tweeted the minister about the ordeal she faced at the passport office where she had gone with her husband to get a new passport for her and a renewed passport for him.


“When I reached the counter, the official, Vikas Mishra, told me there was an issue with my file since I had married a Muslim but retained my maiden name. He insulted me in front of everyone,” Tanvi told TOI


The official then allegedly turned to Siddiqui and told him to "change your name, change your religion, do the pheras and then come here for your passport."

Seth, in her series of tweets, complained to the minister that this was a case of moral policing and religious prejudice. "I was made to feel insulted; I broke down," she said.

"What happened to us should not happen to anyone else. We have been married more than 11 years and this is the first time we faced such a thing," Seth said on why she escalated the matter.

Following her outburst, the regional passport officer apologised to the couple on behalf of the officer and ordered a probe into the incident. He also made immediate arrangements to issue their passports.

The official Vikas Mishra later told ANI that he had only asked the woman to change her name to the one in the nikahnama to avoid duplicate passports and that she had refused.