RIGHTS :

• The Constitution confers the following rights and privileges on the citizens of India (and denies the same to aliens):

I. Right against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15).

II. Right to equality of opportunity in the matter of public employment (Article 16).

III. Right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession (Article 19).

IV. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29 and 30).

V. Right to vote in elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly.

VI. Right to contest for the membership of the Parliament and the state

PROVISIONS :

• The Constitution deals with the citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II. It only identifies the persons who became citizens of India at its commencement (i.e., on January 26, 1950).

• Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955, which has been amended in 1957, 1960, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005 and 2015.

ARTICLE 5-6 :

1. A person who had his domicile in India and also fulfilled any one of the three conditions, viz., if he was born in India; or if either of his parents was born in India; or if he has been ordinarily resident in India for five years immediately before the commencement of the Constitution, became a citizen of India   (Article 5). 

2. A person who migrated to India from Pakistan became an Indian citizen if he or either of his parents or any of his grandparents was born in undivided India and also fulfilled any one of the two conditions viz., in case he migrated to India before July 19, 1948, he had been ordinarily resident in India since the date of his migration; or in case he migrated to India on or after July 19, 1948, he had been registered as a citizen of India. But, a person could be so registered only if he had been resident in India for six months preceding the date of his application for registration (Article 6).

ARTICLE 7-8 :

· A person who migrated to Pakistan from India after March 1, 1947, but later returned to India for resettlement could become an Indian citizen.For this, he had to be resident in India for six months preceding the date of his application for registration2 (Article 7).

· A person who, or any of whose parents or grandparents, was born in undivided India but who is ordinarily residing outside India shall become an Indian citizen if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country of his residence, whether before or after the commencement of the Constitution. Thus, this provision covers the overseas Indians who may want to acquire Indian citizenship (Article 8).

ARTICLE 9-11 :

1. To sum up, these provisions deal with the citizenship of (a) persons domiciled in India; (b) persons migrated from Pakistan; (c) persons migrated to Pakistan but later returned; and (d) persons of Indian origin residing outside India.

2. The other constitutional provisions with respect to the citizenship are as follows:

3. No person shall be a citizen of India or be deemed to be a citizen of India, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state (Article 9).

4. Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India shall continue to be such citizen, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament (Article 10).

5. Parliament shall have the power to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship (Article 11).

AMENDMENTS :

1. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1957 

2. The Repealing and Amending Act, 1960 

3. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985 

4. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986 

5. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1992 

6. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 

7. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005 

8. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015 

ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP :

1. By Birth : A person born in India on or after 26th January 1950 but before 1st July 1987 is a citizen of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of his parents. A person born in India on or after 1st July 1987 is considered as a citizen of India only if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth. 

· Further, those born in India on or after 3rd December 2004 are considere citizens of India only if both of their parents are citizens of India or one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of their birth.

 

2. By Descent A person born outside India on or after 26th January 1950 but before 10th December 1992 is a citizen of India by descent, if his father was a citizen of India at the time of his birth. A person born outside India on or after 10th December 1992 is considered as a citizen of India if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth.

·  From 3rd December 2004 onwards, a person born outside India shall not be a citizen of India by descent, unless his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of the date of birth.

 

3.  By Registration: The Central Government may, on an application, register as a citizen of India any person (not being an illegal migrant) if he belongs to any of the following categories, namely:-

• a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;

• a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India;

• a person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for seven years

• minor children of persons who are citizens of India;

• a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India;

• a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and is ordinarily resident in India for twelv months immediately before making an application for registration;

• a person of full age and capacity who has been registered as an overseas citizen of India cardholder for five years, and who is ordinarily resident in India for twelve months before making an application for registration.

 

4.    By Naturalisation: The Central Government may, on an application, grant a certificate of naturalisation to any person (not being an illegal migrant) if he possesses the following qualifications:

· that he is not a subject or citizen of any country where citizens of India are prevented from becoming subjects or citizens of that country by naturalisation;

· that, if he is a citizen of any country, he undertakes to renounce the citizenship

· that he has either resided in India or been in the service of a Government in India

· that he is of good character;

· that he has an adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution3, and

· that in the event of a certificate of naturalisation being granted to him, he intends to reside in India, or to enter into or continue in, service under a Government in India or under an international organisation  

6. By Incorporation of Territory If any foreign territory becomes a part of India, the Government of India specifies the persons who among the people of the territory shall be the citizens of India. Such persons become the citizens of India from the notified date. For example, when Pondicherry became a part of India, the Government of India issued the Citizenship (Pondicherry) Order, 1962, under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

 

ASSAM ACCORD :

• All persons of Indian origin who came to Assam before the 1st January, 1966 from Bangladesh and who have been ordinarily residents in Assam since the date of their entry into Assam shall be deemed to be citizens of India as from the 1st January, 1966.

• Every person of Indian origin who came to Assam on or after the 1st January, 1966 but before the 25th March, 1971 from Bangladesh and who has been ordinarily resident in Assam since the date of his entry in Assam and who has been detected to be a foreigner shall register himself.

LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP :

1. By Renunciation:Any citizen of India of full age and capacity can make a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship.

2. By Termination When an Indian citizen voluntarily (consciously, knowingly and without duress, undue influence or compulsion) acquires the citizenship of another country, his Indian citizenship automaticallyterminates.

3. By Deprivation: It is a compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the Central government, if:

a) the citizen has obtained the citizenship by fraud:

b) the citizen has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India:

c) the citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war;

d) the citizen has, within five years after registration or naturalisation, been imprisoned in any country for two years; and the citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously.

 

 

SINGLE CITIZENSHIP:

• Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity (Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship.

• The citizens in India owe allegiance only to the Union. There is no separate state citizenship. The other federal states like USA and Switzerland, on the other hand, adopted the system of double citizenship.

• In USA, each person is not only a citizen of USA but also of the particular state to which he belongs. Thus, he owes allegiance to both and enjoys dual sets of rights— one set conferred by the national government and another by the state government

PIO :

• In September 2000, the Government of India (Ministry of External Affairs) had set-up a High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora under the Chairmanship of L.M. Singhvi.

• The mandate of the Committee was to make a comprehensive study of the global Indian Diaspora and to recommend measures for a constructive relationship with them.

• The committee submitted its report in January 2002. It recommended the amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955, to provide for grant of dual citizenship to the Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) belonging to certain specified countries.

Accordingly, the citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, made provision for acquisition of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) by the PIOs of 16 specified countries other than Pakistan and Bangladesh. It also omitted all provisions recognizing, or relating to the Commonwealth Citizenship from the Principal Act

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