Do you know (it is so irritating when someone starts a blog with this I know!); that there are only three people in the entire world who DO NOT have a passport!?
By the way passport has a fascinating history!
The earliest recorded documents granting safe passage are found in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Indian text Arthashastra.
The term “passport” itself dates to medieval Europe, derived from the Latin passer (to pass) and portus (harbor/gateway) to allow travelers through city walls.
In 1540, the English Privy Council began issuing early travel documents under King Henry VIII. Later, in 1641, King Charles I issued one of the earliest recorded British passports!
As global tensions rose, European nations used World War I to strictly monitor borders and restrict the movement of people.
In 1914, the British government issued the very first iteration of the modern passport booklet, which was a single page folded into eight and held within a cardboard cover.
Finally you have the Global Standardization!
Following World War I, border controls were made permanent. The League of Nations held a conference in 1920 that established a universal size, shape, and content standard for passports, which resulted in the famous 32-page “Old Blue” passport!
Which brings us to the DID YOU KNOW that started it all!
Who are the three individuals with no passport?!
Apparently there are only three specific people in the world who do not need or hold passports: King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan!
Because all British passports are issued officially in the King’s name, he cannot issue one to himself. Instead, he carries a special document requesting unhindered passage! Now who WROTE that document is anyone’s guess!
Then you have the Rulers of Japan! Emperor and Empress of Japan operate under a 1971 government ruling stating it is highly inappropriate to subject the imperial couple to ordinary immigration and visa processes!
So unless you are a King (or a Queen for that matter!); and an important one; better have a passport!
Ideally though artists must not be required to have a passport! Art has no border! Like the singer Amit Kumar!
Now keep YOUR passports safe though and sleep!
Shubh ratri…
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