Passport police verification: Why make bribery comfortable for him?
I had my passport police verification today. Now keep in mind, I got it done through tatkaal so i already paid a hefty fee of rs 3.5k. I'm 20 years old/o attending college in another city and I'm on vacation.
So here it goes:
The officer came home, checked documents, asked a few questions, got my signatures, and then said "done."
Now, I already knew these guys often expect 500. I've seen enough stories online. So I wasn't naive enough to think no money would be involved.
What annoyed me was this: I wanted HIM to ask for it.
Not because I was trying to save 500. I knew we'd probably end up giving it. But if you're taking a bribe, at least have the fucking balls to ask for it yourself. Sit there and make it awkward.
Instead, the second he finished, my mom pulled out a ₹500 note and handed it to him before he even had to say anything. The part that really got me was that she did it in a way that I wouldn't notice, but I did.
When I asked her about it later, she said she did it discreetly because it would make him uncomfortable if I saw her handing him the money.
And that's exactly what pissed me off.
Yeah. It SHOULD make him uncomfortable.
That's literally my point.
The officer never had to ask, hint, or even look awkward. Everyone just acted like it was another mandatory fee. If we're all hiding the exchange because it's "uncomfortable," then clearly everyone knows it's not normal.
Am I being unreasonable for wanting him to at least be uncomfortable enough to ask for the money himself? Or has this whole thing become so normalized that nobody even thinks twice anymore?
TL;DR: Passport officer finished verification. Mom secretly handed him ₹500 before he even asked, then later said she hid it from me because it would've made him uncomfortable. My issue isn't the 500 itself, it's how how everyone treats something they know is wrong like it's just a normal part of the process. As if making him uncomfortable would be wrong on our end.