AIDCSC

 Meaning and significance

Like any other modern state, India has two kinds of people—citizens and aliens. Citizens are full members of the Indian State and owe allegiance to it. They enjoy all civil and political rights. Aliens, on the other hand, are the citizens of some other state and hence, do not enjoy all the civil and political rights. They are of two categories—friendly aliens or enemy aliens.

Friendly aliens are the subjects of those countries that have cordial relations with India. Enemy aliens, on the other hand, are the subjects of that country that is at war with India. They enjoy lesser rights than the friendly aliens, eg, they do not enjoy protection against arrest and detention (Article 22).

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

1. Right against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article15).

2. Right to equality of opportunity in the matter of public employment (Article 16).
3. Right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession (Article 19)
4. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29 and 30).
5. Right to vote in elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly.
6. Right to contest for the membership of the Parliament and the state legislature.
7. Eligibility to hold certain public offices, that is, President of India, Vice-President of India, judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts, governor of states, attorney general of India and advocate general of states.

Along with the above rights, the citizens also owe certain duties towards the Indian State, as for

example, paying taxes, respecting the national flag and national anthem, defending the country and so on.

In India both a citizen by birth as well as a naturalised citizen are eligible for the office of President while in USA, only a citizen by birth and not a naturalised citizen is eligible for the office of President.

Constitutional Provisions

The Constitution deals with the citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II. However, it contains neither any permanent nor any elaborate provisions in this regard. It only identifies the persons who became citizens of India at its commencement (i.e., on January 26, 1950). It does not deal with the problem of acquisition or loss of citizenship subsequent to its commencement. It empowers the Parliament to enact a law to provide for such matters and any other matter relating to citizenship. Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955, which has been amended in 1986, 1992, 2003 and 2005.

According to the Constitution, the following four categories of persons became the citizens of India at its commencement i.e., on 26 January, 1950:

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).
3. 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 registration 2 (Article 7).
4. 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 asa 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).

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.

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

1. 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). 1
2. 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).
3. 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).

Citizenship Act, 1955

The Citizenship Act (1955) provides for acquisition and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution. This Act has been amended so far four times by the following Acts:

1. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986.
2. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1992.
3. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003.
4. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Originally, the Citizenship Act (1955) also provided for the Commonwealth Citizenship. But, this provision was repealed by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003.

Acquisition of Citizenship

The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of acquiring citizenship, viz, birth, descent,

registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory:

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 hisparents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth.

Further, those born in India on or after 3rd December 2004 are considered 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.

The children of foreign diplomats posted in India and enemy aliens cannot acquire Indian citizenship by birth.

2. By Descent A person born outside India on or after 26th January 1950 but before 10 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 10 th  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 3 rd  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 or with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period. An application, for registration of the birth of a minor child, to an Indian consulate shall be accompanied by an undertaking in writing from the parents of such minor child that he or she does not hold the passport of another country.
3. By Registration The Central Government may, on an application, register as a citizen of India any th person (not being an illegal migrant) if he belongs to any of the following categories, namely:  (a) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;

(b) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided

India; (c) a person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;

(d) minor children of persons who are citizens of India;

(e) a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India;

(f) a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and has been residing in India for one year immediately before making an application for registration;

(g) a person of full age and capacity who has been registered as an overseas citizen of India for  five years, and who has been residing in India for one year before making an application for registration.

An applicant shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident in India if –

(i) he has resided in India throughout the period of twelve months immediately before making an application for registration; and

(ii) he has resided in India during the eight years immediately preceding the said period of twelve months for a period of not less than six years.

A person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he, or either of his parents, was born in undivided India or in such other territory which became part of India after the 15 th  August, 1947.

All the above categories of persons must take an oath of allegiance before they are registered as

citizens of India. The form of the oath is as follows:

I, A/B………………. do solemnly affirm (or swear) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of India

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:

(a) 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;

(b) that, if he is a citizen of any country, he undertakes to renounce the citizenship of that country

in the event of his application for Indian citizenship being accepted;

(c) that he has either resided in India or been in the service of a Government in India or partly the

one and partly the other, throughout the period of twelve months immediately preceding the

date of the application;

(d) that during the fourteen years immediately preceding the said period of twelve months, he has

either resided in India or been in the service of a Government in India, or partly the one and

partly the other, for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than eleven years;

(e) that he is of good character;

(f) that he has an adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Eighth Schedule to the

Constitution

(g) 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 of which India is a member or under a society, company or body of

persons established in India.

However, the Government of India may waive all or any of the above conditions for naturalisation in the case of a person who has rendered distinguished service to the science, philosophy, art, literature, world peace or human progress. Every naturalised citizen must take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India.

5. By Incorporation of Te rritory 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.

Loss of Citizenship

The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways of losing citizenship whether acquired under the Act or prior to it under the Constitution, viz, renunciation, termination and deprivation:

1. By Renunciation Any citizen of India of full age and capacity can make a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship. Upon the registration of that declaration, that person ceases to be a citizen of India. However, if such a declaration is made during a war in which India is engaged, its registration shall be withheld by the Central Government.

Further, when a person renounces his Indian citizenship, every minor child of that person also loses   Indian citizenship. However, when such a child attains the age of eighteen, he may resume 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 automatically terminates. This provision, however, does not apply during a war in which India is engaged.
3. By De privation 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

(e) 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. This system creates the problem of discrimination, that is, a state may discriminate in favour of its citizens in matters like right to vote, right to hold public offices, right to practice professions and so on. This problem is avoided in the system of single citizenship prevalent in India.

In India, all citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same political and civil rights of citizenship all over the country and no discrimination is made between them.

However, this general rule of absence of discrimination is subject to some exceptions, viz,

1. The Parliament (under Article 16) can prescribe residence within a state or union territory as a condition for certain employments or appointments in that state or union territory, or local authority or other authority within that state or union territory. Accordingly, the Parliament enacted the Public Employment (Requirement as to Residence) Act, 1957 and thereby authorised the Government of India to prescribe residential qualification only for appointment to non-Gazetted posts in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura. As this Act expired in 1974, there is no such provision for any state except Andhra Pradesh.
2. The Constitution (under Article 15) prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds of

religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and not on the ground of residence. This means that the state can provide special benefits or give preference to its residents in matters that do not come within the purview of the rights given by the Constitution to the Indian citizens. For example, a state may offer concession in fees for education to its residents.

3. The freedom of movement and residence (under Article 19) is subjected to the protection of interests of any schedule tribe. In other words, the right of outsiders to enter, reside and settle in tribal areas is restricted. Of course, this is done to protect the distinctive culture, language,customs and manners of schedule tribes and to safeguard their traditional vocation and property against exploitation.
4. In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, the state legislature is empowered to define the persons who are permanent residents of the state and confer any special rights and privileges in matters of employment under the state government, acquisition of immovable property in the state, settlement in the state and scholarships and such other forms of aid provided by the state government.

6 The Constitution of India, like that of Canada, has introduced the system of single citi-zenship and provided uniform rights (except in few cases) for the people of India to promote the feeling of fraternity and unity among them and to build an integrated Indian nation. Despite this, India has been witnessing the communal riots, class conflicts, caste wars, linguistic clashes and ethnic disputes.

Thus, the cherished goal of the founding fathers and the Constitution-makers to build a united and integrated Indian nation has not been fully realised.