‘Why can’t I get a passport for my daughter?’
Tannishtha Chatterjee says she has often been asked about the father’s whereabouts after she adopted a daughter
Two days ago, Tannishtha Chatterjee took to social media to share that her fiveyear-old daughter wasn’t given a passport when they applied for the same. The actor had been planning to take her along for one of her international shoots in the coming month.
Talking to us about it, Chatterjee says, “They kept saying that it’s complicated, since it makes for a court case. I kept iterating that it’s a court order and I’m not in a dispute with anyone. When I went to the assistant passport officer, he told me the same thing. And when I asked him what the complication was, he had no answer. I had provided my daughter’s birth certificate, which has my name, adoption papers, the court order, my passport, our Aadhaar cards, my address proof and my PAN card.” The actor-filmmaker says while she hasn’t faced something of this nature in the past, she has often been asked about the father. “Right from the beginning, there has always been a question as to who and where the father (of my daughter) is. I hope this doesn’t deter single women from adopting children,” she says.
Chatterjee adds, “The process of adoption for single women is pretty progressive and that’s what I expect out of my country (with regards to other procedures, too), because we’re a progressive culture. If adoption is legal, why is it that I can’t get a passport for my daughter?”
Disturbed by the episode, the actor has been writing to politicians and ministries, seeking help. “I’m in a lurch. They refused me tatkal despite the fact that I had applied for it, digitally, a month ago, with all documents in place. They are regressive. The annexure in their website stated that in case of an adoption, certain documents need to be signed. I’ve done that and uploaded them online,” she states, worried that the incident has left an impact on her daughter.