A passport can get an Indian across international borders, secure consular protection in a foreign country and establish nationality before immigration authorities worldwide. Yet, according to officials of the external affairs ministry, it is not proof of citizenship. Under Section 5 of the Passports Act, 1967, a passport authority may issue a passport only after considering the application and making such inquiry as it deems necessary. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) The seemingly technical clarification, made on Passport Seva Divas on Wednesday while unveiling the benefits of chip-enabled e-passports, has revived a long-standing legal question that has acquired renewed significance amid recent controversies over electoral roll revisions and citizenship verification exercises: if even a passport does not conclusively prove citizenship, what document does? The paradox The statement appears counter-intuitive because the very law governing passports proceeds on the premise that the holder is an Indian citizen. Under Section 5 of the Passports Act, 1967, a passport authority may issue a passport only after considering the application and making such inquiry as it deems necessary, while Section 6(2)(a) expressly …