The use of the passport was discontinued after the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, and its bearers were entitled to opt for Indian, Pakistani or British nationality.
The Indian Passport Act of 1920 required the use of passports, established controls on the foreign travel of Indians, and foreigners travelling to and within the Presidencies and Provinces of British India.[3] The passport was based on the format agreed upon by the 1920 League of Nations International Conference on Passports.[4]