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The Concept of Citizenship under Indian Constitution

Table of Contents

Introduction to Citizenship

A plant needs water, light and air to exist in the world, similarly for subsists in the society, a person needs citizenship . Citizenship means membership in a nation. Every country in the world gives citizenship to the people who lived within the nation’s territory. The citizens of India can enjoy single citizenship. They are full members of India and owe allegiance to it. Indian citizens can enjoy all political and social rights noted in the Constitution of India. The fundamental rights in Part III of the Indian Constitution deal with citizen’s right.  The citizens also have certain duties to perform for the nation mentioned in Article 51(A) of the Constitution of India.

Constitutional Provisions relating to citizenship

Citizenship is enshrined in Part II of the Constitution from Article 5-11. As per the Constitution of India, the four types of persons eligible for the Citizen of India. The four types are stated below:

• Citizens by domicile;
• Citizens by migration;
• Termination of Citizenship; and
• Citizens by registration.

Citizens by Domicile –

• Article 5 of the Constitution of India stated that If any individual was born within the territory of India, or the individual’s parents were born in India or the individual had his residence in India or he has been ordinarily inhabitant in India for 5 years immediately before the advent of the Constitution, became the citizen of India.
• Case Law   – In the case of Neha Saini V. State of Uttarakhand (AIR 2010 Uttr 36), the Uttarakhand High Court held that a person shall be a citizen of India under Article 5(b) of the Constitution who has his domicile in the territory of India at the commencement of the Constitution and either of his parents were born in the territory of India.

Citizens by Migration

• Article 6 of the Constitution of India lays down that a person migrated to India from Pakistan eligible for citizenship if he or his parents or grandparents was born in India before 19th July 1948. A person could be registered as citizenship if he had been an inhabitant in India for 6 months coming before the date of his plea for registration.
• Case Law   – in the case of Shanno Devi V. Mangal Sain (AIR 1961 SC 58), the Supreme Court stated that the migration predicted in Article 6 must have taken place before and not after the commencement of the Constitution.

Termination of Citizenship

According to Article 7 of the Constitution, a person migrated to Pakistan from India after 1st March 1947 but later returned to India for resettlement could become the Citizen of India. He could be enrolled if he had been resident in India for 6 months preceding the date of his application of enrollment.

Citizens by registration

Article 8 stated that a person who or his parents or his grandparents were born in undivided India but who is initially living outside India shall become a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen by the prudent or consular representative of India in the country of his residence, whether before or after the advent of the Indian Constitution.

No person can eligible for citizenship in India if he voluntarily amassed the citizenship of a foreign nation as per Article 9 of the Constitution of India. This provision stated that no citizen of India claims dual or plural citizenship.

The Citizenship Act, 1955:-

• Article 5-11 of the Constitution of India respecting citizenship are not broad but fragmentary and emaciated. Article 11 of the Indian Constitution authorizes Parliament to make a law to furnish for such matters and accordingly Parliament has legislated the Citizenship Act, 1955 to furnish for the accession and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Indian Constitution. This Act has been modified 8 times.
• The Citizenship Act of 1955 furnished for Commonwealth Citizenship.

The Act provides for five ways for acquiring citizenship of India-

• Registration;
• Naturalisation; and
• Incorporation of some territory into India.
• (  ALSO READ :  THE CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019 )
• (  ALSO READ : Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019: Boon or Bane?  )

Acquisition of Citizenship:-

According to the Citizenship Act, 1955, a person can eligible for citizenship in five ways-

• By Birth   – Section 3 of this Act stated that a person born in India on or after 26th January 1950 but before 1st July 1987 is a citizen of India by bearing irrespective of the nationality of his parent.
• By Decent   – Section 4 of the Citizenship Act 1955 provides for citizenship by descent. A person born in foreign on or after 26th January 1950 but before and after 10th December 1992 is considered as an Indian citizen if his father was an Indian citizen at the time of his birth. From 3rd December 2004, a person born in foreign countries shall not be an Indian citizen by descent, unless his birth is enrolled at an Indian consulate within one year of the birth date.
• a) A person of Indian origin resident of India for 7 years before a paper registration.
• b) A person of India origin resided in a foreign country.
• c) A person who is married to a citizen of India and ordinarily inmate in India for 7 years before making an application of enrollment.
• d)Minor children of one Indian citizen.
• e) A person whose parent was born in undivided India.
• a) the person is a citizen of a country where citizens of India are not deterred from becoming citizens by naturalisation;
• b) the person rejects his citizenship of the other nation;
• c) the person has lived or been in government duty for 12 months instantly preceding the date of application;
• d) the person must be a good identity;
• e) the person has sufficient knowledge of a language recognised by the Indian Constitution;
• f) After getting citizenship by naturalisation the person aims at to live in India and can apply for government services and company in India.
• By Incorporation of Territory   – Section 7 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 provides citizenship by incorporation of territory. If any foreign territory evolves a part of India, the citizens of those territories become the citizens of India.

Loss of Citizenship:-

The Citizenship Act, 1955 laid down three ways of losing citizenship, they are –

• By Renunciation – Any Indian citizen of full age and ability can make a statement renouncing his citizenship. Upon the enrollment of that statement that person terminates to be an Indian citizen.
• By the Termination – If an Indian citizen deliberately or intentionally without any undue influence attains the foreign citizenship, the person’s citizenship is terminated.
• By Deprivation – If a citizen of India has achieved citizenship by fraud or disobey the Constitution, illegally trade and conveyed with the enemy country during the war, he has within five years after naturalisation, arrested for 2 years in any country and inmate out of India for seven years continuously, the person’s citizenship is a mandatory loss.

Single Citizenship:-

In India, only single citizenship available for the citizens of India. There is no separate state citizenship. All citizens of India regardless of their residence state entitled to relish all civil and political rights given to the citizens by the Constitution. All citizens are equal and treated without any discrimination. This single citizenship builds a strong harmony in the nation.

Conclusion:-

India, the land of 136 Crore people, enjoy citizenship right mentioned in the Constitution. This citizenship right gives citizen power and identity. It builds a patriotic feeling among the people. After all, this citizenship regarding caste, race, creed makes an identity of all citizens that is they belong from the same nation.

Author: Shreeparna Goswami, 2nd year B.A.LL.B of Shyambazar Law College

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Citizenship of India (Article 5 - 11) - Indian Polity Notes

Patil Amruta

Jul 30, 2024

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Citizenship can be defined as a relationship between an individual and a state to which he or she owes loyalty and is thus protected by the law. Citizenship entails a state of liberty with attendant duties. Indian Constitution Addresses Citizenship of India in Articles 5 to Article 11. The Citizenship of India (Article 5 - 11) is an integral part of UPSC Indian Polity and Governance Syllabus, We will discuss Constitutional provisions related to Citizenship of India and related controversies in this article.

Meaning of Citizenship

• The term "citizenship" refers to the individual's relationship with the state.
• India, like any other contemporary state, has two types of citizens: citizens and aliens.
• Citizens are full members of the Indian State and are bound by its laws. They are free to exercise their civil and political rights.
• Citizenship is an exclusionary concept since it excludes non-citizens.

Citizenship of India: Constitutional Provision

• Citizenship is listed in the Constitution's Union List and hence falls within Parliament's sole control.
• The term "citizen" is not defined in the Constitution, however, Part 2 describes the numerous types of people who are eligible for citizenship (Articles 5 to 11).
• Unlike other parts of the Constitution, which took effect on January 26, 1950, these articles were put into effect on November 26, 1949, the day the Constitution was signed.
• Citizenship was granted to all persons who were born and raised in India.
• Even people who were domiciled in India but not born there, yet had one of their parents born there, were considered citizens.
• Anyone who had lived in India for more than five years was also eligible to seek citizenship.
• It granted citizenship rights to certain Pakistani migrants to India.
• Because of Partition and migration prior to Independence, Article 6 stated that anyone who migrated to India prior to July 19, 1949, automatically became an Indian citizen if one of his parents or ancestors was born in India.
• Those who arrived in India after this date, on the other hand, had to register.
• It Provided certain migrants to Pakistan with the right to citizenship.
• Those who migrated to Pakistan after March 1, 1947 and later returned on resettlement permits were included in the citizenship net.
• The law was more sympathetic to those who migrated from Pakistan and were referred to as refugees than to those who were stranded in Pakistan or went there but decided to return soon.
• Provided certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India with the right to citizenship.
• Any Person of Indian Origin residing outside India who was born in India, or either of his or her parents or grandparents, could register as an Indian citizen with the Indian Diplomatic Mission.
• Article 9 states that if a person voluntarily obtains the citizenship of a foreign state, he or she will no longer be a citizen of India.
• Article 10 states that any person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the preceding provisions of this Part shall continue to be such a citizen, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament.
• It gives Parliament the authority to make any provision regarding the acquisition and termination of citizenship, as well as all matters pertaining to it.

Citizenship of India: Acts and Amendments

The citizenship act, 1955: acquisition.

Indian citizenship can be obtained in the following ways:

• Citizenship conferred by birth
• Citizenship through descent
• Citizenship through registration
• Naturalization leads to citizenship.
• Territorial incorporation (by the Government of India)
• Children born on or after July 1, 1987, but before the start of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, are Indian citizens, as are all persons born in India on or after January 26, 1950, but before July 1, 1987 will have the status of a citizen. If either of his parents is an Indian citizen at the time.
• A kid whose parents are Indian at the time of birth or either of them is an Indian citizen at the time of birth and the other is not an illegal migrant is deemed to be an Indian citizen when the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 takes effect.
• A person born outside of India between January 26, 1950, and December 10, 1992 must have had an Indian citizen father at the time of his birth.
• Either of the parents must be Indian citizens at the time of a child's birth outside the nation on or after December 10, 1992.

By Registration

• A person of Indian ancestry who has lived in India for at least seven years prior to applying for citizenship.
• A person who is married to an Indian citizen and has lived in India for at least seven years prior to applying for citizenship.
• Indian citizens' minor children.

By Naturalisation

• Residing in the country concerned for a certain period of time.
• Do not be a citizen of any country where Indians do not get citizenship by naturalization.
• Relinquishing the citizenship of other countries and accepting the citizenship of India.
• Should be well versed in any one of the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule.
• Be of good character.It is exempted under a special provision that if a person has done special work in the field of science, philosophy, art, literature, world peace or human development, then he can get citizenship by naturalization without fulfilling the above conditions.

Incorporation of Territory

• If any additional territory is added to India's territory or gets taxed. In 1974, Sikkim, for example, united with India. As a result, if the people of Sikkim become Indian citizens, the Indian government will ensure that the people of that region become Indian citizens .
• The act was amended four times: in 1986, in 2003, in 2005, and in 2015.

The Citizenship Act, 1955: Termination

• According to the Act, citizenship can be revoked in three ways:
• Renunciation: Any Indian citizen who is also a national of another country who renounces his Indian citizenship in the prescribed manner through a declaration ceases to be an Indian citizen.
• When a male person loses his Indian citizenship, all of his minor children lose their Indian citizenship as well.
• However, such a child may become an Indian citizen within one year of reaching full age by making a declaration of his intention to reclaim Indian citizenship.
• Termination: An Indian citizen's citizenship can be revoked if he or she knowingly or voluntarily adopts the citizenship of another country.
• Deprivation: In some cases, the Indian government may deprive a person of his citizenship. However, this does not apply to all citizens.
• It is only applicable to citizens who obtained citizenship through registration, naturalization, or by virtue of Article 5 Clause (c) (which is citizenship at commencement for a domicile in India and who has ordinarily been a resident of India for not less than 5 years immediately preceding the commencement of the Constitution).
• It also reduces the time required for citizenship from 11 to 6 years .
• These migrants were also exempted from the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act, according to two notifications.
• A large number of organizations in Assam have protested this Bill, which may grant citizenship to illegal Bangladeshi Hindu migrants.
• The bill's justification is that Hindus and Buddhists are minorities in Bangladesh and fled to India to avoid religious persecution, but Muslims are the majority in Bangladesh and cannot be said to be in the same category.

Citizenship of India: Different Scenario in Assam

• In the 1970s, Assam experienced large-scale illegal migration from former East Pakistan and, after 1971, current-day Bangladesh. This resulted in a six-year-long Assam movement for the deportation of illegal migrants. The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) led the movement calling for the NRC to be updated and deportation of all illegal migrants who entered Assam after 1951.
• The Assam Movement against illegal immigration eventually led to the historic Assam Accord of 1985, signed by the Movement leaders and the Rajiv Gandhi government. It set March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for the deportation of illegal migrants from the northeast of India.
• Section 6A (Identification of foreigners) was to be done under the Illegal Migrants ( Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983, which was only applicable in Assam and the Foreigners Act, 1946 . The Act was declared unconstitutional and overturned by the Supreme Court in 2005 on the petition of Sarbananda Sonowal.
• This was eventually replaced by the Foreigners (Tribunals for Assam) Order, 2006, which was overturned again in 2007.
• In the IMDT case, the court ruled that geographically based classification was a violation of Article 14's right to equality.

• Giving a six-year residency concession based solely on religion is contrary to the tenets of secularism. India, as a country that adheres to the ideology of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,' should not be hasty in making decisions that may disenfranchise her citizens, thus contradicting centuries-old values.
• The need of the hour is for the Union Government to clearly chart out a course of action regarding the fate of excluded people from Assam's final NRC , and political parties to refrain from colouring the entire NRC process with electoral prospects. An overly legal approach will only add to the sense of insecurity, insecurity, and anxiety.

Question: Is it possible to have dual citizenship in India?

The Indian Constitution prohibits holding both Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country at the same time. The Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India based on the recommendation of the High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora (OCI).

Question: What are the various types of citizenship available in India?

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian citizenship can be obtained in four ways: birth, descent, registration, and naturalization. Sections 3, 4, 5(1), and 5(4) of the Citizenship Act of 1955 contain the relevant provisions .

Question: Consider the following statements: [Test Series Question]

• Articles 371A through 371 of the Indian Constitution has been added to address the territorial aspirations of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa.
• The constitutions of India and the United States of America have two monarchies (Union and States), but citizenship is only one.
• A person who became a citizen of India through naturalization will never lose his citizenship.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(c) only 2 and 3

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) See the explanation

• Articles 371A through 371I of the Indian Constitution has been added to address the territorial aspirations of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa. Therefore statement 1 is correct.
• Both India's and the United States of America's constitutions include provisions for union and state, but America has dual citizenship while India has single citizenship. So statement 2 is incorrect.
• Any person who has become a citizen of India through naturalization may lose his citizenship at any time if he violates the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore statement 3 is incorrect.
• In India, there is a provision for dual citizenship.
• In India, there is a provision for a single citizenship
• Parliament lacks the authority to enact citizenship legislation.

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 2 and 3 only

Ans: (b) See the explanation

• In India, there is no provision for dual citizenship. Therefore statement 1 is incorrect.
• In India, there is a provision for single citizenship. Therefore statement 2 is correct.
• Parliament lacks the authority to enact laws concerning citizenship. Therefore statement 3 is incorrect.

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Citizenship in India: Evolution, Involution, and Rational Construction

• First Online: 17 November 2012

Cite this chapter

• Subrata K. Mitra 2  

Part of the book series: Transcultural Research – Heidelberg Studies on Asia and Europe in a Global Context ((TRANSCULT))

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Subrata Mitra focuses on the concept and measurement of citizenship in India. He delineates the Indian discourse on citizenship from which the current concept has evolved, in three ways. The evolutionists see a seamless web that connects citizens of classical India with nagariks —the vernacular term that the Constitution employs to denote citizens—of contemporary India. Hindutva, the Khalsa, the pan-Islamic identity , or more regionally focused identities such as the Naga, Mizo, Kashmiri are examples of involution where the citizenship bonds point inwards in search of the deeper recesses of the collective self, beyond the mere rituals of food, dress, or social networks, or articles on individual rights enshrined in the Constitution. The third approach conceptualizes citizen making as a deliberate, “ rationally” designed process.

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The Idea of Citizenship and Its Institutionalization: Significance of India for the Korean case

Conclusion: The Continued Need for Transformative Politics of Citizenship

Citizenship in Retrospect

The concept of “changing societies” was typical to the field of political development in the aftermath of the Second World War when it was generally assumed that the changing societies of the Third World, emerging out of colonial rule, could reach the levels of economic development and democracy enjoyed by Western societies by adapting themselves to the paradigm of modernization. Such confidence in the hegemony of Western concepts of development is no longer the case. Today, one finds “changing societies” in the midst of post-industrial, liberal democratic systems where immigrants and natives are locked in a battle over the core concepts of the state, and where hybridization rather than purity dominates the public sphere.

The continuing debate over the creation of the Telengana State is a pointer in this direction. See Vinay Kumar, “Telengana Movement a desire for greater democracy, empowerment,” in the Hindu , URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2011/01/07/stories/2011010758431600.htm

The diverse meanings attributed to it can be seen from a brief perusal of India’s print media, government reports and learned essays. News reports from Kashmir are replete with accounts of “protesters” who have gone on a rampage about the “rights of citizens” but there is no basic debate about who citizens are and what this status entails.

The very question of how to secure citizenship for the inhabitants of Kashmir, as the current inconclusive debates in India readily testify, can reduce a body of experienced lawmakers into sheer pandemonium.

Two contributions by Sudhir Kakar, The Inner World: A Psycho-analytic Study of Childhood and Society in India (Delhi: OUP; 1978) and Kakar ed. Identity and Adulthood (Delhi: OUP; 1979) provide an introduction to the debate on identity and selfhood in India. See W. B. Gallie ,“Essentially contested concepts ”, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society , vol. 56 (1955–6), pp. 170–1, for a definition of essentially contested concepts.

The first article of the Constitution of India: “ India, that is bharat , shall be a Union of States” (emphasis added) captures the essence of this approach.

Commenting on the inappropriate use of methodological individualism in cross-cultural and comparative analysis, Susanne Rudolph says, “as we address the state in Asia (as indeed the state per se) we must treat the symbolic as a phenomenon. We must try to create theoretical frameworks that combine a demystified, rationalist worldview with an understanding of the phenomenology in societies where the gods have not yet died.” Susanne Rudolph (1987) “State formation in Asia—prolegomenon to a comparative study.” The Journal of Asian Studies , 46(4) p. 742.

The risk of “loss in translation” when applying instruments of measurement plucked out of one cultural context to another is enormous, particularly when it concerns an attitudinal survey, the technique that I have chosen to measure citizenship in India. Michael Werner and Benedicte Zimmermann, “Beyond comparison: Histoire croisee and the challenge of reflexivity”, History and Theory , 45, Feb 2006 , p. 37 mention this as the problem of “reciprocity and reversibility” when it comes to the application of cross-cultural analysis. “While the project relating to transfers did not lay down a rule on this point right from the start, empirical surveys have generally involved simple linear processes, from one culture or one discipline to another, following a logic of introduction, transmission. and reception.” Ibid .

These approaches are identifiable in the writings of India’s political thinkers, and in the elite interviews conducted as part of the fieldwork on citizenship in India. See below.

See Table  7.1 below for an illustration of the debate between involution and evolution on the nature of the relationship between the past and present in India. While both evolutionists and involutionists derive the legitimacy of their concept of the future from their understanding of the past, the former see the present as part of the evolution of an unproblematic past to an equally unproblematic future. In contrast, the involutionists see the present (inclusive of colonial modernity) as a corruption which needs to be expunged in order to produce an authentic, Indian future.

See, for example, Partha Chatterjee’s concept of the “political society.” The main challenges to the state today, namely, Naxalite violence, communalism, terrorism, and regionalism, are routinely seen by their protagonists and sympathetic intellectuals as nothing short of the assertion of citizenship. Interestingly, the citizen duties (Article 51a) were introduced into the constitution of India by an amendment in 1976 at the height of the national emergency, an authoritarian interlude that has left deep scars in the democratic record of India.

See Eric Stokes, The English Utilitarians and India (Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1959) for a magisterial analysis of the conflation of utilitarian norms and colonial realities.

See Robert Hardgrave “The Breast-Cloth Controversy”, Indian Economic and Social History Review , vol. 2 (June 1968), pp. 171–187.

The Directive Principles of State Policy, built into the constitution, make copious references to the citizen.

“I am only dealing with the language side of [education]. When we consider the whole subject of education we have to think in terms of the State and the society we are aiming at; we have to train our people to that end; we have to decide what our citizens should be like and what their occupations should be; we have to fit in this education to their life and occupations; we have to produce harmony and equilibrium in their private and social and public life. We shall have to lay far greater stress on technical and scientific training if we are to take our place in the modern world. All this and more we shall have to do, and in doing so we shall have to upset the present incompetent and inefficient and top-heavy system of education and build anew on securer foundations.” The Unity of India , p. 258 (Nehru 1942 ).

Hind Swaraj and other writings, p. 188 f.

“A Hindu is primarily a citizen either in himself or through is forefathers of ‘Hindusthan’ and claims the land as his motherland. In America as well as in France the word Hindu is generally understood thus exactly in the sense of an Indian without any religious or cultural implication. And had the word Hindu been left to convey this primary significance only, which it had in common with all the words derived from Sindhu then it would really have meant an Indian, a citizen of Hindusthan as the word Hindi does.” Savarkar, 1923. Hindutva: Who is a Hindu , p. 51.

Who is a Hindu? p. 67.

Nationalism , p. 110.

Cited in Partha Chatterjee, p. 81.

The Indian Struggle (1935–42), pp. 100–01. Cited in V. P. Verma, Modern Indian Political Thought (Agra: Lakshmi Narain Agarwal Educational Publishers; 1995), pp. 593–594.

The difficulty of classification is also indicative of the conviviality that underpins public rivalry among these forerunners of modern India. The colors run, as they engage with one another. “Nehru was also wearing a Gandhi cap!” Clemens Spiess, personal communication, Dec 2009.

As a remarkable example of conceptual flow, one can see the reverberations of European history in the far flung battles between European colonial powers, down to the use of the word “citizen”—the battle cry of the nascent French Republic and its successors. Tipu sultan of Mysore, while trying to secure the alliance of France against the English in India “enlisted himself as a member of the Jacobin Club and permitted nine Frenchmen in his service to elect ‘citizen Ripaud’ a Lieutenant in the French navy, as their President, to hoist the flag of the recently established French Republic and to plant a Tree of Liberty at Seringapatam.” Cited in Majumdar, RC: Raychaudhuri, H C: Datta K. K An Advanced History of India , Part III. Modern India (second ed. 1951), pp. 711–712.

The Preamble to the Constitution of India announces this intention with boldness and clarity.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

“The question of citizenship became particularly important at the time of the making of our Constitution because the Constitution sought to confer certain rights and privilege upon those who were entitled to Indian citizenship while they were to be denied to ‘aliens’. The latter were even placed under certain disabilities.” Durga Das Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India 74 (2001).

Inserted to the constitution under the forty-second amendment Act 1976 at the height of the emergency, the legitimacy of the fundamental duties remains contested.

This official norm finds its resonance in school textbooks. See Sudipto Kaviraj. Citizen and Government: A textbook for Classes IX and X . New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training, 1985.

The four questions on citizenship form part of the National Election Study (NES) conducted by Lokniti (CSDS) during July-August 2009. A representative sample of about 8,000 men and women were interviewed in their own languages by specially trained investigators. See Subrata Mitra, “Citizenship in India: Preliminary Analysis of a National Survey,” in the Economic and Political Weekly of India , Feb 27, 2010, for full details of the survey.

The statistical overview of citizenship is culled out of a survey of social attitudes, in which a representative sample of the Indian population has been queried about their self perception, and other attributes such as empowerment and loyalty to the symbols of India’s nationhood.

The emphasis on rights as an essential ingredient of citizenship occurs frequently in our elite interviews. See Prasanna Nayak.

V. S. Naipaul, India: A Million Mutinies Now (London: William Heinemann; 1990) p. 517. Today’s Naxalites elicit much more popular sympathy than one would expect from a society in the throes of accelerated entry into the international market economy where each outbreak of insurgency has a direct impact on the much needed Foreign Direct Investment, indispensable to rapid growth.

Citizenship is an integral part of political identity and in this sense follows the definition of identity by Sudhir Kakar. Kakar describes a person as having an identity when s/he has “a sense of self ‘that makes it possible to perceive oneself ’as a consistent and continuous being with a past, a present and a future.” Sudhir Kakar, ed., Identity and Adulthood (Delhi: Oxford University Press; 1979), preface, p. IX.

Kakar’s illustration of the concept of personhood in Vivekananda as the conflation of assertion and sublimation comes close to my usage of citizenship. “Vivekananda was passionately convinced that the regeneration of religious vitality required a massive effort in raising cultural consciousness so that the Hindu world-image would come to pervade every form of individual and social endeavour, which in turn called for elementary measures of economic and sheer physical emancipation. Religion cannot be preached to empty bellies, he asserted.” Sudhir Kakar, The Inner World: A Psycho-analytic Study of Childhood and Society in India (Delhi: Oxford University Press; 1978), p. 163.

Homi Bhaba’s conceptualization of the “third space” captures the spirit of the concept of citizenship, seen as a thread that strings together the past and the future into a coherent design of which the present is the most immediate and accessible evidence. “The enunciation of cultural difference problematizes the binary division of past and present, tradition, and modernity, at the level of cultural representation and its authoritative address. It is the problem of how, in signifying the present, something comes to be repeated, relocated and translated in the name of tradition, in the guise of a pastness that is not necessarily a faithful sign of historical memory but a strategy of representing authority in terms of the artifice of the archaic.” Homi Bhaba, The Location of Culture (London: Routledge; 1994), p. 35.

The Indian constitution, which recognizes individual, as well as group rights, seems to point towards both the individual and the group as building blocks of politics. Article one: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”, draws on the political, legal, entity of the state and its individuals on the one hand, and Bharat—redolent of the myth of traditional India, bound by the laws of Manu, on the other—points in both directions, simultaneously.

See Subrata Mitra and V. B. Singh, When Rebels become Stakeholders (Delhi: Sage; 2009).

See Jonathan Fox, “Unpacking ‘transnational citizenship’,” Annual Review of Political Science , 2005: 8 pp. 171–201.

Nira Yuval-Davis, “The multi-layered citizen: citizenship in the age of globalization” in International Feminist Journal of Politics , 1 (1) pp. 119–36.

Basu, Durga Das. 1991. Introduction to the Constitution of India. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall.

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Fox, Jonathan. 2005. “Unpacking ‘Transnational Citizenship’.” Annual Review of Political Science 8 (1): 171–201.

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Gandhi, Mohandas Karamcand. 1999. Hind Swaraj and Other Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kakar, Sudhir. ed. 1979. Preface, Identity and Adulthood. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Kaviraj, Sudipta. 1985. Citizen and Government: A Textbook for Classes IX and X. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra, Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri and Kalikinkar Datta. 1961. An Advanced History of India. 2 nd ed . London: Macmillan.

Mitra, Subrata K. and V. B. Singh. 2009. When Rebels Become Stakeholders: Democracy, Agency and Social Change in India. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Naipaul, V.S. 1990. India: A Million Mutinies Now. London: William Heinemann.

Nehru, Jawaharlal. 1942. The Unity of India: Collected Writings 1937–1940. 2 nd ed. London: Drummond.

Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar. (1923). 1949 Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? 4 th ed. Poona: Gokhale.

Stokes, Eric. 1959. The English Utilitarians and India. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Verma, V.P. 1995. Modern Indian Political Thought. Agra: Lakshmi Narain Agarwal Educational Publishers.

Werner, Michael and Bénédicte Zimmermann. 2006. “Beyond Comparison: Histoire Croisée and the Challenge of Reflexivity.” History and Theory 45 (1): 30–50.

Yuval-Davis, Nira. 1999. “The ‘Multi-layered Citizen’: Citizenship in the Age of ‘Glocalization’.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 1(1): 119–136.

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Mitra, S.K. (2013). Citizenship in India: Evolution, Involution, and Rational Construction. In: Mitra, S. (eds) Citizenship as Cultural Flow. Transcultural Research – Heidelberg Studies on Asia and Europe in a Global Context. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34568-5_7

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Citizenship in India

This article is written by Soma-mohanty of KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar. In this article, she has mentioned about the eligibility to hold citizenship of India.

Table of Contents

When there was a declaration of independence, the country was divided into two parts one was India and the other was Pakistan. The people were provided independence to join any country they want to get the nationality of. Thus the situation demanded strict provisions to frame the nationality policy of India before the commencement of the constitution.

Constitutional Provisions governing citizenship

After the partition it was seen that people were migrating from one border to another, thus it was difficult to frame the provision for citizenship in India.

Citizenship act and its amendment 

Citizenship act of 1955.

Amendments 

Modes of acquiring of citizenship 

Citizenship by birth.

According to Section 3 of The Citizenship Act , if a

• When a person is born on or after 26th January 1950 but before 1st July 1987, then he would be entitled to get citizenship by birth.
• When a person’s parents are a citizen of India or either of the parents is a citizen of India then the person would be entitled to get citizenship by birth.
• If one parent is a citizen of India and the other is not, then it is necessary to establish the fact that the other parent is not an illegal migrant at the time of the birth of the child.

Citizenship By Descent

According to Section 4 of The Citizenship Act ,

• A person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950, is a citizen of India by descent if his/her father was a citizen of India by birth.
• A person born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, but before December 3, 2004, if either of his/her parents was a citizen of India by birth. 
• If a person born outside India or after December 3, 2004, has to acquire citizenship, his/her parents have to declare that the minor does not hold a passport of another country and his/her birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of birth.
• Provided that a minor under this section is if a citizen of another country must renounce that within six months.

Citizenship By Registration

According to Section 5 of The Citizenship Act ,

• A person of Indian origin who has been a resident of India for 7 years before applying for registration.
• A person of Indian origin who is a resident of any country outside undivided India.
• A person who is married to an Indian citizen and is ordinarily resident for 7 years before applying for registration.
• Minor children of persons who are citizens of India.

Citizenship By Naturalisation

According to Section 6 of The Citizenship Act ,

• When an application for grant of a certificate of naturalisation is made by a person who is fully aged or has attained the capacity and the Central Government is satisfied that all the conditions are fulfilled, then the person is granted the certificate of naturalisation.
• When a person is granted the certificate of citizenship by naturalisation, he has to take oath in the manner specified in the Third Schedule.

Citizenship By Incorporation of Territory

According to Section 7 of The Citizenship Act ,

• When any territory is added to the constitution of India, then the people of those territories would be considered as the citizen of India.
• These people would be granted citizenship by the Official Gazetteonce the Central Government notifies them.
• They would be considered as the citizen from the date specified in the order.

Overseas citizenship of India

• A foreign citizen of Indian origin is given the permission of immigration to live and work in the Republic of India, this is known as Overseas Citizenship of India.
• It was introduced for the purpose of granting dual citizenship.
• It was brought into light from The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005.
• People with Overseas Citizenship of India are permitted from certain rights
• No right to vote.
• No right to hold constitutional offices
• No right to buy agricultural properties

Requirements to apply and use Overseas Citizenship of India document

• Citizenship
• Should be a holder of a passport of another country

Previously citizens of India were not permitted to hold dual citizenship and this provision was laid down by the Constitution of India. Thus, a person was not permitted to hold any other countries passport with an Indian passport.

• This provision raises many problems, thus High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora recommended the Government of India to provide Overseas Citizenship of India as specified in the Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1995.
• Earlier travelling required the travellers of Overseas Citizenship of India card to carry a passport and it should have a lifetime visa.  But this provision was rejected and it is not mandatory to carry.

Eligibility

A person is eligible to get registered as Overseas Citizenship of India by the Government of India under certain conditions

• Should be a citizen of India as per dated on 26th of January 1950 or after the date stated.
• The person’s grandfather or grandparents should be a citizen of India.
• When the person’s grandfather or grandparents are a citizen of India and the person is a minor child.
• When a person’s both parents are a citizen of India or either of the parents is a citizen of India and the person is the minor child.
• When the person’s spouse is of foreign origin of a citizen of India or holder of Overseas Citizen of India and the marriage has been registered for more than two years.
• Exception: if the person’s either parents or grandparents or great grandparents had or having the citizenship of Pakistan or Bangladesh, is eligible for registration under Overseas Citizen of India

Application 

Application for Overseas Citizenship of India is submitted online.

• A person while submitting the application for Overseas Citizenship of India has to attach a photograph of him/ her in the application.
• It is mandatory for the person to produce all the documents required for verification, to prove the eligibility criteria.
• The person is required to submit the application fee.
• Application submitted outside of India is charged with the amount of US$275
• The application submitted inside India is charged with the amount of Rs. 15,000
• The person is required to produce the proof of citizenship he is currently possessing and in addition, he needs to produce a photocopy of the passport. And the passport must be having the validity of six months at least
• If the application made by the person is within the Indian jurisdiction, then it is mandatory for him to submit a photocopy of the Indian visa.
• The person is required to produce the proof that either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents are the citizens of India.
• The person needs to produce a photocopy of the Indian visa, photocopy of the Domicile Certificate, photocopy of the Nativity Certificate of either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents.
• If the above-stated documents produced are checked and the basis of Indian origin is proved then the person is required to show that the relationship stated above is a lawful relationship.
• The documents required to prove the relationship can be a birth certificate in which both the parent’s identity is mentioned.
• Till the completion of 20years of age, a new passport is to be issued.
• After attaining the age of 50years it is required to re-issue the Overseas Citizen of India registration certificate as well as the visa.
• For the person’s between the age of 21 to 50, It is not mandatory to re-issue the document of Overseas Citizen of India to get the new passport.

  Privileges

• The Overseas Citizen of India cardholders are given multiple-entry, multi-purpose visa forever.
• their period of stay in India is not restricted.
• Uniformity is provided to the non-resident Indians in the matter of financial, economic, and educational fields.
• Uniformity is maintained between the non-resident Indians and resident Indians in the domestic Airfares.
• The non-resident Indians are given the right to employment in private sectors.
• Overseas Citizen of India cardholders are exempted from producing employment visa and for registration with Overseas Citizen of India Foreigners Regional Registration Office for the job.
• OCI holders are exempted to apply for the Inner Line Permit or Protected Area Permit. They are allowed to travel around any part of India.

Disadvantages of OCI Card

• The OCI cardholders do not have the right to vote.
• The OCI cardholders are exempted from the right to hold the office of Prime Minister, President, Vice-President, Judge of the Supreme Court and the High Court, member of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assembly, or Council.
• The OCI cardholders are exempted from the right of employment in government sectors.
• The OCI cardholders have no right of acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

Cancellation of OCI card 

The existing registration of OCI can be cancelled through the provisions of Section 7D of the Citizenship Act,1995. The Government of India has the right to cancel the OCI if it has been obtained by false representation or concealment of facts.

The followings are the conditions in which OCI is cancelled according to  Section 7D of the Citizenship Act,1995

• If the registration was based on the facts of false representation, concealment of facts and the OCI was obtained.
• If the OCI cardholder’s action is not according to the law established by the Constitution of India.
• During any war relating to India, if it is found that any OCI cardholder was involved with the enemies and had unlawful communication or any trade or business that helped the enemy during the course of the war.
•  If an OCI cardholder is sentenced with imprisonment for a term not less than two years.

Renunciation of OCI 

When the person has registered for OCI document, but they find it necessary to abstain from it and withdrawal the application, then renunciation of OCI is done. The provisions followed in the procedure of renunciation of OCI are laid down in Section 7C of the Citizenship Act.

According to Section 7C of the Citizenship Act

• When an overseas citizen of India who has attained the age of capacity decides to renounce his overseas citizenship of India, then he can do so on registration before the Central Government. And after the registration, the person would cease to be a citizen of India.
• After the renounce of the person, the minor child of the person would cease to be a citizen of India

Person of Indian origin

When a person of Indian origin has been entitled to the passport of other countries, they hold Person of Indian Origin Card. But the passport should not be from countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

The Person of Indian Origin Card has ceased to work from 9th January 2015 and has been merged with the OCI  card provision. Thus the holders of The Person of Indian Origin Card are treated as OCI cardholders.

Conditions 

Certain conditions are required to be fulfilled to issue the Person of Indian Origin Card are as follows.

• If the person has never been an Indian passport holder.
• If the person’s parents, grandparents or great grandparents were residing permanently in India and they never had the citizenship of countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• If the person’s spouse is a citizen of India or PIO cardholder.

Benefits to PIO card holder 

• A person with a PIO card is allowed to enter into India, without producing a visa.
• A person with a PIO card is allowed to stay in India for a period of six months without registration.
• They have the right to acquisition, transfer, and disposal of immovable properties in India.
• Child of the person with a PIO card has the right to education in any government or private educational sectors.

Dual citizenship

Availing dual citizenship of India and another country requires certain strict provisions. Earlier there was no provision of dual citizenship in India. These certain provisions are required to be fulfilled to obtain dual citizenship in India

• When a person from another country is working in India and their child is born in India, then dual citizenship is granted to the child until the period of employment in India.
•  A minor of Indian origin has the right to hold dual citizenship of India as well as another country. The minor is provided with dual citizenship so that the minor child chooses the preference of nationality before six months of attaining the age of eighteen.

Renunciation of Indian citizenship 

Under Section 8 of the Citizenship Act,1995 the provisions for renunciation of citizenship has been laid down

• When both the parents are no more citizen of India, then their minor child is given the right to choose the nationality of his/her preference within the given period of time, after he/she attains the age of eighteen
• When a citizen of India has attained the age of maturity or capacity and decides to renunciate the citizenship of India then he can submit his renunciation by registering under the prescribed authority.
• After submission to the prescribed authority, the person ceases to be a citizen of India.
• But if the person submits the request for renunciation of citizenship during the period of war India is engaged in then the request would be kept pending until directed by the Central Government of India.

Termination of Indian citizenship

According to Section 9 in the Citizenship Act,1995 the following provisions are provided for the termination of Citizenship

• When a citizen of India voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, then he ceases to be a citizen of India.
• But a citizen of India who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of some other country during the period of war, then his citizenship won’t be ceased till the Central Government directs.

In the case of Bhagwati Prasad Dixit v. Rajeev Gandhi [6],  it was seen that the question raised was against the validity of the election. According to the appellant, the respondent was to be disqualified from being a candidate in the election as he has ceased to be a citizen of India. The respondent had challenged the verdict of the High Court.

It was held that the High Court has correctly dismissed the plea because it the arguments that were put forward did not disclose any cause of action . Moreover, the question of acquisition of Foreign citizenship under Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, is to be answered by the Central Government and the High Court does not have the jurisdiction.

To know more about the topic on citizenship laws, Click Here.

[1] AIR 1996 SC 1436

[2] AIR 1966 SC 1614

[3] AIR 1955 SC 282

[4] AIR 1971 SC 1382

[5] AIR 1954 SC 229

[6] 1986 AIR 1534

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• Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019

Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) - Bill Explained in Detail for UPSC

The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA Bill) was first introduced in 2016 in Lok Sabha by amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. This bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, whose report was later submitted on January 7, 2019. The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed on January 8, 2019, by the Lok Sabha which lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.  This Bill was introduced again on 9 December 2019 by the Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah in the 17th Lok Sabha and was later passed on 10 December 2019. The Rajya Sabha also passed the bill on 11th December. 

The CAA was passed to provide Indian citizenship to undocumented immigrants who entered India on or before 31st December 2014. The Act was passed for migrants of six different religions such as Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Any individual will be considered eligible for this act if he/she has resided in India during the last 12 months and for 11 of the previous 14 years. For the specified class of undocumented immigrants, the number of years of residency has been relaxed from 11 years to five years.

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) covers an important part of the UPSC Syllabus . Candidates can also download the PDF notes at the end of this article.

Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) Download PDF Here

• Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 gets Parliament’s nod.

What is Citizenship?

• Citizenship defines the relationship between the nation and the people who constitute the nation.
• It confers upon an individual certain rights such as protection by the state, right to vote, and right to hold certain public offices, among others, in return for the fulfilment of certain duties/obligations owed by the individual to the state.

Citizenship in India

• The Constitution of India provides for single citizenship for the whole of India.
• Under Article 11 of the Indian Constitution, Parliament has the power to regulate the right of citizenship by law. Accordingly, the parliament had passed the  Citizenship act of 1955 to provide for the acquisition and determination of Indian Citizenship.
• Entry 17, List 1 under the Seventh Schedule speaks about Citizenship, naturalization, and aliens. Thus, Parliament has exclusive power to legislate with respect to citizenship.
• Then, spurred by the populist movements alleging massive illegal migrations from Bangladesh, citizenship laws were first amended to additionally require that at least one parent should be Indian.
• In 2004 , the law was further amended to prescribe that not just one parent be Indian; but the other should not be an illegal immigrant.

To know more about  citizenship in India , refer to the linked page.

Who is an illegal migrant in India?

Under the Act, an illegal migrant is a foreigner who:

• Enters the country without valid travel documents like a passport and visa, or
• Enters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.

Illegal migrants may be put in jail or deported under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

Read about Migration & India in the linked article.

The  scenario before the passing of the Act

• The Foreigners Act and the Passport Act debar such a person and provide for putting an illegal migrant into jail or deportation.
• Section 5 (a) of Citizenship act of 1955 : A person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;
• And they should have lived in India continuously for 12 months before submitting an application for citizenship.
• Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, as well as for 11 of the previous 14 years.

What the Act intends to do?

• The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 aims to make changes in the Citizenship Act, the Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act if undocumented immigrants belong to religious minority communities from three neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Features of CAA 2019

• The legislation applies to those who were “forced or compelled to seek shelter in India due to persecution on the ground of religion”. It aims to protect such people from proceedings of illegal migration.
• The amendment relaxes the requirement of naturalization from 11 years to 5 years as a specific condition for applicants belonging to these six religions.
• The cut-off date for citizenship is December 31, 2014 , which means the applicant should have entered India on or before that date.
• Such persons shall be deemed to be citizens of India from the date of their entry into India, and
• All legal proceedings against them in respect of their illegal migration or citizenship will be closed.
• It also says people holding Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards – an immigration status permitting a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely – can lose their status if they violate local laws for major and minor offences and violations.
• These tribal areas include Karbi Anglong (in Assam), Garo Hills (in Meghalaya), Chakma District (in Mizoram), and Tripura Tribal Areas District.
• It will also not apply to the areas under the Inner Line Permit under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 .

It is against Muslims

• It fails to allow Shia, Balochi, and Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan and Hazaras in Afghanistan who also face persecution, to apply for citizenship.
• A key argument by the critics against the CAA is that it will not extend to those persecuted in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, from where Rohingya Muslims and Tamils are staying in the country as refugees.

It violates Article 14

• The CAA is in the teeth of Article 14, which not only demands reasonable classification and a rational and just object to be achieved for any classification to be valid but additionally requires every such classification to be non-arbitrary .
• One of the criticisms is that this Act is an instance of class legislation, as classification on the ground of religion is not permissible.

Why North East is objecting to CAA?

• In the Northeastern states , the prospect of citizenship for massive numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants has triggered deep anxieties, including fears of demographic change , loss of livelihood opportunities, and erosion of the indigenous culture.
• The Assam Accord, signed between the then Rajiv Gandhi-led central government and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), had fixed March 24, 1971, as the cutoff date for foreign immigrants. Those illegally entering Assam after this date were to be detected and deported, irrespective of their religion.
• The Citizenship Amendment Act moved the cutoff date for six religions to December 31, 2014, something that is not acceptable to the Assamese-speaking people in Brahmaputra Valley, who insist that all illegal immigrants should be treated as illegal.
• Also, since these will be legitimate citizens, there will be more people joining the queue of job hopefuls that can potentially lower opportunities for the indigenous and the locals.
• There is a view that illegal immigrants, who will eventually become legitimate citizens, will be determining the political future of the state.

Other issues surrounding CAA

• CAA does not consider Jews and atheists. They have been left out of the Act.
• A common history is not ground as Afghanistan was never a part of British India and was always a separate country.
• The reason stated in the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ of the Act is that these three countries constitutionally provide for a “state religion”; thus, the Act is to protect “religious minorities” in these theocratic states.
• Non-Buddhist missionary activity is limited, construction of non-Buddhist religious buildings is prohibited and the celebration of some non-Buddhist religious festivals is curtailed. Yet, Bhutan has been excluded from the list.
• On the classification of individuals, the Act provides benefits to sufferers of only one kind of persecution, i.e. religious persecution neglecting others.
• Religious persecution is a grave problem but political persecution is also equally existent in parts of the world. If the intent is to protect victims of persecution, the logic to restrict it only to religious persecution is suspect.
• As per critics, the provisions of CAA might lead to a situation where a Rohingya who has saved himself from harm in Myanmar by crossing into India will not be entitled to be considered for citizenship, while a Hindu from Bangladesh, who might be an economic migrant and have not faced any direct persecution in his life, would be entitled to citizenship.
• Similarly, a Tamil from Jaffna escaping the atrocities in Sri Lanka will continue to be an “illegal migrant” and never be entitled to apply for citizenship by naturalization.
• There is also a reduction in the residential requirement for naturalization — from 11 years to five. The reasons for the chosen time frame have not been stated.

It is not against Muslims

• In any case, since India follows the principle of non-refoulment (even without acceding to the Refugee Convention 1951), they would not be pushed back.
• If a Shia Muslim is facing persecution and is in India seeking shelter, his case to continue to reside in India as a refugee shall be considered on its merits and circumstances.
• With regard to Balochi refugees , Balochistan has long struggled to be independent of Pakistan and including Balochis in the CAA could be perceived as interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
• The CAA, therefore, does not exclude Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan from applying for Indian citizenship. They can continue to do so in the same way singer Adnan Sami, for example, applied for citizenship.
• It is important to note that even minorities shall not be granted automatic citizenship. They would need to fulfil conditions specified in the Third Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955, namely, the good character requirement as well as physical residence in India.
• Salve stated that the countries specified in the CAA have their own state religion and Islamic rules. He added that Islamic-majority nations identify their people as those who follow Islam and those who do not. Addressing governance problems in neighbouring countries is not the purpose of the CAA.
• Over the issue of Rohingyas, Salve stated that a law that addresses one evil does not need to address all the evils in all countries. It is notable here that Myanmar, though a Buddhist majority nation, does not have a state religion and Myanmar does not feature in the CAA bill.

The Act is not a violation of Article 14

Sovereign space

• Thus in Trump v Hawaii No. 17-965, 585 U.S. (2018), the US Supreme Court upheld a travel ban from several Muslim countries holding that regulation of foreigners including ingress is a “fundamental sovereign attribute exercised by the government’s political departments largely immune from judicial control.”
• Indian courts have generally followed similar reasoning. In David John Hopkins vs. Union of India (1997), the Madras High Court held that the right of the Union to refuse citizenship is absolute and not fettered by equal protection under Article 14 .
• Similarly in Louis De Raedt vs. Union of India (1991), the Supreme Court held that the right of a foreigner in India is confined to Article 21 and he cannot seek citizenship as a matter of right.

With respect to North East

• Citizenship Amendment Act does not dilute the sanctity of the Assam Accord as far as the cut-off date of March 24, 1971, stipulated for the detection/deportation of illegal immigrants is concerned.
• The Citizenship Amendment Act is not Assam-centric. It applies to the whole country. The Citizenship Amendment Act is definitely not against the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is being updated to protect indigenous communities from illegal immigrants.
• Further, there is a cut-off date of December 31, 2014, and benefits under the Citizenship Amendment Act will not be available for members of the religious minorities who migrate to India after the cut-off date.

Historical Connections

• The Act does not give a carte blanche to Hindus, Christians and Sikhs from other countries to come to India and get citizenship. Just these three countries. Why?
• Because each of these has been civilizational ties with India. The circumstances in which they were partitioned from India have created a situation where Hindus and other minority populations have been dwindling ever since the partition took place.
• Regarding including other countries in the neighbourhood the argument could be that we can deal with them separately if the need arises as we did in the case of persecuted Sri Lankan Tamils.

The parliament has unfractured powers to make laws for the country when it comes to Citizenship. But the opposition and other political parties allege this Act by the Government violates some of the basic features of the constitution like secularism and equality. It may reach the doors of the Supreme Court where the Supreme Court will be the final interpreter. If it violates the constitutional features and goes ultra-wires it will be struck down, if it is not we will continue to have the law.

But one most important thing is, that an equilibrium has to be attained by New Delhi as this involves neighbouring countries too. Any exaggerated attempt to host the migrants should not be at the cost of goodwill earned over the years. India being a land of myriad customs and traditions, the birthplace of religions and the acceptor of faiths and protectors of persecution in the past should always uphold the principles of Secularism going forward.

• It was an agreement between the Governments of India and Pakistan regarding the Security and Rights of Minorities that was signed in Delhi in 1950 between the Prime ministers of India and Pakistan, Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan
• The need for such a pact was felt by minorities in both countries following Partition, which was accompanied by massive communal rioting.
• In 1950, as per some estimates, over a million Hindus and Muslims migrated from and to East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), amid communal tension and riots such as the 1950 East Pakistan riots and the Noakhali riots.

Under the Nehru-Liaquat pact

• refugees were allowed to return unmolested to dispose of their property
• abducted women and looted property were to be returned
• forced conversions were unrecognized
• minority rights were confirmed

What did India and Pakistan agree upon?

• “The Governments of India and Pakistan solemnly agree that each shall ensure, to the minorities throughout its territory, complete equality of citizenship, irrespective of religion, a full sense of security in respect of life, culture, property and personal honour, freedom of movement within each country and freedom of occupation, speech and worship, subject to law and morality,” the pact said.
• “Members of the minorities shall have equal opportunity with members of the majority community to participate in the public life of their country, to hold political or other offices, and to serve in their country’s civil and armed forces. Both Governments declare these rights to be fundamental and undertake to enforce them effectively.”
• Amit Shah referred to the Nehru-Liaquat pact on a few occasions in Parliament to justify the Citizenship Act.

Frequently Asked Questions related to Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019

What is the new citizenship amendment bill 2019, is the nrc bill passed in india.

There are other important national issues that are important from current affairs’ perspectives:

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Understanding India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)

India has just implemented the Citizenship Act, better known as the CAA. This article will explain India’s Citizenship Amendment Act and counter the false narratives being peddled by those with motivated agendas against the progress and development of Bhārat (India).

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This article exposes, using facts, every news article, report and person claiming India will no longer allow Muslims citizenship and/or throw out Muslims from India.

All of the findings below are publicly available. This means the events in India which occurred in January and February of 2020, particularly in New Delhi, were cunningly orchestrated by spreading fake news and lies to mislead the world, in particular the Muslim community, and set up to cause riots to malign India and the Narendra Modi led BJP government.

The original Citizenship Act of 1955

Shockingly, no media reports have even mentioned the original Act that was being amended. It does beg the question of why they have ignored an integral part of the Act.

Citizenship Act 1955 – https://indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4210/1/Citizenship_Act_1955.pdf

This is the official,  publicly  available Citizenship Act 1955 of India.

It says that a person can become a citizen of India by 5 means;

1. Citizenship by birth 2. Citizenship by descent 3. Citizenship by registration 4. Citizenship by naturalisation 5. Citizenship by incorporation of territory

Nowhere does it say that Muslims cannot apply for citizenship. Anyone can apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1955 —  except  illegal immigrants in India.

Why was there a need for an Amendment?

The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is an amendment/addition to the already existing Act of 1955 mentioned above. It provides a path to citizenship for the  religiously persecuted minorities , namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is for those religious minorities who faced persecution or fear of persecution in the aforementioned countries and entered India  on or   before 31 December 2014 .

Related Stories

• Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan
• Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
• Factsheet: Persecution of Hindus
• Report: Pakistani Hindus

Now here is the legal issue and the need for the amendment: those who fled to India due to religious persecution are technically illegal immigrants and therefore under the original Citizenship Act of 1955, cannot be granted citizenship. So then what? Should the Government of India send them back to Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh where they will be subject to the very same persecution that they fled from in the first place? Of course not, and this is why the amendment was brought in. It does beg the question, however: where are all the human rights activists? Why is there no outcry or global campaign over the persecution of religious minorities in these countries?

What about Muslims?

Muslims, including those from the named 3 countries, can apply for Indian citizenship as normal under the rules of the Citizenship Act 1955, but will not be fast-tracked or granted citizenship for the reason of religious persecution in those countries. They are not a religious minority (non-Muslim) in the named 3 countries which are Islamic republics with a majority Muslim population, and therefore do not fall under the amendment of 2019.

To Summarise

After doing some research, it is clear that there was some very lazy and irresponsible journalism or worse, a deliberate attempt to mislead, to malign India and to cause communal tensions.

The Citizenship Act and its amendments;

• Provide a legal passage for the religiously persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to become citizens of India
• Does not state, indicate or imply that Muslims will be stripped of their citizenship and/or thrown out of the country
• Will, as before allow all, except illegal immigrants, including Muslims to apply for Indian citizenship

Key points of CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) in simple words:

1.⁠ ⁠The CAA provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for the persecuted illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

2.⁠ ⁠These people are exempted from being treated as illegal migrants under the Act, provided they have been exempted by the Central Government under certain other laws (Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the Foreigners Act, 1946).

3.⁠ ⁠For these people, the requirement for residence or government service in India for citizenship by naturalization is reduced to “not less than five years”, instead of the previous requirement of “not less than eleven years”.

4.⁠ ⁠The cut-off date for eligibility is December 31, 2014. This means that only those who entered India on or before this date can apply for citizenship under the CAA.

5.⁠ ⁠The CAA does not apply to all areas of India. It excludes certain areas in the Northeast, including tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and the area covered under “The Inner Line” notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

6.⁠ ⁠The CAA does not affect the rights of any citizen of India, including Muslims. It only provides a pathway to citizenship for certain illegal migrants who belong to specific religious communities and have entered India from specific countries.

7.⁠ ⁠The CAA does not automatically grant citizenship to all illegal migrants who belong to the specified religious communities. They still need to apply for citizenship and fulfill certain conditions, such as proving their identity, residence, and good character.

8.⁠ ⁠The CAA does not provide any protection to illegal migrants who belong to other religious communities (not specified in the list), who have entered India from the same countries. They will continue to be treated as illegal migrants and may be subject to deportation or other legal actions.

Documentary | Stateless

Watch the eye-opening documentary ‘STATELESS’ for the first time on X in the context of #CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act, India). We thank @AnupamPKher for being the chief guest at the premiere of filmmaker @dnikhilsingh 's documentary in July 2021. pic.twitter.com/w8hFZ384xF — IndicDialogue (@indicdialogue) March 14, 2024

Further Reading

Citizenship amendment act – what it is and what it is not.

The article defends the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India, stating it will not revoke citizenship of any Indian citizens, including Muslims, as assured by Home Minister Amit Shah. It argues the law aims to provide citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh in the aftermath of Partition based on religion, when promises of equality were violated. The law is portrayed as a secular and reasonable measure allowed under Article 14, not favoring any particular religion. It explains why initially only minorities from three countries were included, clarifies the Rohingya’s exclusion, and assures protection of Article 371 for northeastern states.

https://arisebharat.com/2024/03/11/caa-what-it-is-what-it-is-not/

Delhi Haj Committee Chairman Kausar Jahan’s statement On the CAA notification, Delhi Haj Committee Chairman Kausar Jahan says, “I welcome this. This is an act to give citizenship and not take it away. The condition of Non-Muslims in our neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh is not good. If the govt wants to give them a respectful life, what is the problem with it? The Muslim community will not have any problem with this, there is no need to panic.”

#WATCH | Delhi: On the CAA notification, Delhi Haj Committee Chairman Kausar Jahan says, “I welcome this. This is an act to give citizenship and not take it away. The condition of Non-Muslims in our neighboring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh is not good. If the govt wants… pic.twitter.com/eMoJhep6L2 — ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2024

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The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019: An Insight through Constitutional and Secularism Perspective

• December 2021
• Journal of Asian and African Studies 57(8):002190962110588
• 57(8):002190962110588

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Future of Citizenship Laws in India With Special Reference to Implementation of NRC in Assam

Journal of Legal Studies and Research, Volume 6 Issue 4 – August 2020, ISSN: 2455-2437

Blackstone Journal for Asia-Africa Jurists Research Paper No. 366573315

10 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2020

Shahnawaz Ahmed Malik

Aligarh Muslim University

Date Written: July 31, 2020

The issue of citizenship in India, in contemporary times, is one of the most debated issues in the country. This controversy is centered on the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (hereinafter CAA 2019), coupled with the National Population of Register (hereinafter NPR) and National Register of Citizen (hereinafter NRC), which have to be viewed together. The genesis of this debate came with the enactment of the CAA 2019, which aims to confer citizenship to illegal migrants of certain neighboring countries on the basis of religion. The migrants of two religious’ communities, that are Muslim and Jews, stand excluded from the Act. It is also pertinent to note that the CAA 2019 was enacted in the backdrop of the Supreme Court monitoring the NRC exercise in the state of Assam. The NRC case itself had proven to display serious socio-political problem and grave concerns nationwide by excluding over 19 lac persons belonging to various faiths, rendering them “stateless”. These excluded persons range from the family members of a former President of India to those individuals who had fled religious persecution from neighboring countries. The Government, in response to the concerns, has rejected any claims that the CAA 2019 is meant to exclude any particular community, rather has justified the need for such an enactment stating that it is only a mode for granting citizenship rights to certain persecuted minorities and it does not in any way take away citizenship of any person. Curiously, the Act does not mention the term ‘persecuted’ or ‘persecution’, therefore it cannot be read as being a criterion for granting citizenship. So how does the CAA 2019 take a religious color? The Act by creating an easier path for all non-Muslim immigrants from adjoining countries to attain citizenship leaves practitioners of Islam unfairly disadvantaged when seeking to immigrate to India. The benefit to persecuted minorities within the Act only extends to Muslim neighboring countries. This is where the debate has largely taken place, especially considering that India already has a large number of refugees, for example Tibetan refugees from China, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, and Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka, all of who have been inexplicably excluded.

Keywords: Citizenship, India, NRC, CAA, National; Register of Citizen, National Population of Register, Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, Indian Muslims, Minority Rights and Citizenship Laws in India

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Shahnawaz Ahmed Malik (Contact Author)

Aligarh muslim university ( email ).

Uttar Pradesh India 679340 (Fax)

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Essay on CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act): History, New Rules, and More

• Updated on  
• Mar 14, 2024

Essay on CAA: The Indian Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act on 11th December 2019 after long debates. CAA will provide Indian citizenship to the 6 minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, who have been living illegally in India. These 6 communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. Opposition, on the other hand, has claimed that the CAA is unconstitutional and will deprive the rights of citizenship.

Essay on CAA is often asked in academic tests and competitive tests. You need to understand all the dimensions of this newly enacted law to secure better marks. This page will discuss the history of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the new rules added by the Indian Government, and other important details. Stay tuned!

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Table of Contents

• 1 Important Points of the CAA
• 2 History of the Citizenship Amendment Act
• 3 CAA New Rules?
• 4 Is CAA Unconstitutional?
• 5 Why is CAA Controversial?
• 6 What will be the Outcomes of the CAA?

Important Points of the CAA

• The CAA will benefit thousands of Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis, who have been living in India illegally or on long-term visas (LTV).
• CAA is only applicable to people who entered India illegally before 31st December 2014.
• Individuals with any criminal records will not be eligible for Indian citizenship under the Foreigners Act, of 1946 and the Passport Act, of 1920 .
• These two acts specify punishments for entering or residing illegally in India or staying after the expiration of their visas.
• The Muslim community has been excluded from the CAA since the above-mentioned countries are Muslim-majority countries.

History of the Citizenship Amendment Act

The Citizenship Amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha (House of Commons) in 2016 as an amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Joint Parliamentary Committee concluded its report on the CAA Bil on 7th January 2019. On 8th and 11th January 2019, the CAA Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and was sent for the President’s assent. 

The Citizenship Amendment Act will provide Indian citizenship to 6 communities of India’s three neighboring countries; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, who are minorities in their country. These 6 communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. 

Indian citizenship will be provided to only those individuals who have been residing in India before 21st December 2014. 

CAA New Rules?

On 11th March 2024, the Indin Government revised the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019. These new rules will help in the implementation of this much-awaited controversial law. According to the CAA’s new rules, individuals belonging to any of these 6 communities must have the following documents issued by their country of origin:

• Birth or Educational Institution Certificate.
• Identification Card (of any kind).
• Any license or certificate.
• Land or tenancy records or any other official documents where their name and age are mentioned.

These documents are necessary to prove that the individual was once a resident of that country. Moreover, it will provide a sense of belonging to their identity.

*The documents listed above are not required for children in the age group of 5 to 11 years. This act relaxed the resident requirement for the neutralization of these children.

Read More On CAA:

Is CAA Unconstitutional?

Since the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the opposition has been claiming it is unconstitutional. They argue that the CAA, along with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will benefit only non-Muslims. 

Moreover, there has been mass protest in Assam, where protestors are claiming that this act contradicts the Assam Accord of 1985 , which states that illegal migrants residing after 25th March 1971 from Bangladesh must be deported back.

Estimates claim that more than 2 crore illegal Bangladeshi migrants are currently living in Assam and are responsible for the depletion of natural resources and inflation in the state.

However, the CAA is not unconstitutional. The government has considered all the dimensions and has explained all the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which will provide Indian citizenship to people living in India illegally before 31st December 2014.

Also Read: Capital Punishment Essay for Students in English: 250 and 500 Words

Why is CAA Controversial?

CAA has become a controversial topic, and it is very important to understand all the dimensions of this newly enacted law. 

• The government claims that the CAA will provide Indian citizenship to the 6 minorities of India’s neighbouring countries. 
• The opposition groups have been claiming this act was discriminatory against the ‘Muslims’, the ‘Rohingya Hindus of Myanmar, and the ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’. 
• Critics argue that the CAA violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the Right to Equality before the Law and the principle of Secularism , enlisted in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

What will be the Outcomes of the CAA?

The Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 amended the Citizenship Act of 1955. This act will provide Indian citizenship to 6 religious communities; Hindus Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains, and Christians, who fled their countries before December 2014 due to fear of religious persecution.

The government has revised the rules of the CAA for its smooth implementation. CAA will benefit thousands of the above-mentioned 6 communities, who have been living in India illegally or whose visas or legal permits have expired. 

Ans: The Indian Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act on 11th December 2019 after long debates. CAA will provide Indian citizenship to the 6 minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, who have been living illegally in India. These 6 communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. Opposition, on the other hand, has claimed that the CAA is unconstitutional and will deprive the rights of citizenship.

Ans: The CAA will benefit thousands of Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, who have been living in India illegally or on long-term visas (LTV). – CAA is only applicable to people who entered India illegally before 31st December 2014. – Individuals will any criminal records will not be eligible for Indian citizenship under the Foreigners Act, of 1946 and the Passport Act, of 1920.

Ans: CAA is not unconstitutional. The opposition political parties have claimed the CAA as unconstitutional because this act does not include the Muslims, Hindu Rohingyas and Sri Lankan Tamils.

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Over 2.1 lakh Indians renounced Indian citizenship in 2023: Govt

Minister of state for external affairs kirti vardhan singh said this in a written response to a query by aap mp raghav chadha.

More than 2.16 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2023, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to queries on Indian citizens who have renounced their citizenship in the last five years.

In his response, he also shared the corresponding data for 2011-2018. In 2023, the number of Indians who renounced their citizenship stood at 2,16,219 (2.16 lakh).

The corresponding figure for 2022 was 2,25,620 (2.25 lakh); 1,63,370 (1.63 lakh) in 2021; 85,256 in 2020; and 1,44,017 (1.44 lakh) in 2019, according to the data.

The query from AAP MP Raghav Chadha was also on whether the government had taken steps to find the reasons for such "high number of renunciation" and "low acceptance of Indian citizenship" and, if so, the details thereof.

Also Read: London Diary: The India-UK faith divide

Chadha also sought to know whether the government had tried to determine the "financial as well as intellectual drainage" and loss to the country because of the high renouncement of citizenship.

"The reasons for renouncing/taking citizenship are personal," the minister said. "The government recognises the potential of the global workplace in an era of a knowledge economy. It has also brought about a transformational change in its engagement with the Indian diaspora."

A "successful, prosperous, and influential diaspora" is an "asset for India", Singh said. "India stands to gain a lot from tapping its diaspora networks and productive utilisation of the soft power that comes from having such a flourishing diaspora. The government's efforts are also aimed at harnessing the diaspora potential to its fullest including through sharing of knowledge and expertise."

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Citizenship Amendment Act: Unpacked

• 29 Mar 2024
• 11 min read
• GS Paper - 2
• Government Policies & Interventions
• India and its Neighbourhood

For Prelims: Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 , Citizenship Act, 1955 , Foreigners Act, 1946 , Passport Act, 1920 , Citizenship Rules in 2004 , Aadhaar cards , Birth Certificates, Intelligence Bureau (IB) , Secularism , Equality Before the Law , Article 14 , Assam Accord, 1985

For Mains: Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and its implication on India's Secularism and Pluralism.

Why in News?

Recently, the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 have been notified by the Indian Government.

• This law gives citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

What is the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019?

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• The CAA provides citizenship on the basis of religion to six undocumented non-Muslim communities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31 st December, 2014.
• The two Acts specify punishment for entering the country illegally and staying here on expired visas and permits.

Acquisition and Determination of Indian Citizenship

• Every person born in India on or after 26th January, 1950 but before 1st July, 1987 is an Indian citizen irrespective of the nationality of his/her parents.
• Every person born in India between 1st July, 1987 and 2nd February, 2004 is a citizen of India given that either of his/her parents is a citizen of the country at the time of his/her birth.
• Every person born in India on or after 3rd December, 2004 is a citizen of the country given both his/her parents are Indians or at least one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of birth.
• A person of Indian origin who has been a resident of India for 7 years before applying for registration.
• A person of Indian origin who is a resident of any country outside undivided India.
• A person who is married to an Indian citizen and is ordinarily resident for 7 years before applying for registration.
• Minor children of persons who are citizens of India.
• A person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950 is a citizen of India by descent if his/her father was a citizen of India by birth.
• A person born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, but before December 3, 2004 if either of his/her parent was a citizen of India by birth.
• If a person born outside India or or after December 3, 2004 has to acquire citizenship, his/her parents have to declare that the minor does not hold a passport of another country and his/her birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of birth.
• A person can acquire citizenship by naturalization if he/she is ordinarily resident of India for 12 years (throughout 12 months preceding the date of application and 11 years in the aggregate) and fulfills all qualifications in the third schedule of the Citizenship Act.
• The Act does not provide for dual citizenship or dual nationality. It only allows citizenship for a person listed under the provisions above ie: by birth, descent, registration or naturalization.

What are the Rules Issued by the Government Concerning the Citizenship Amendment Act?

• Historical Context: The government has previously taken steps to address the plight of refugees, including amendments to the Citizenship Rules in 2004 and notifications in 2014, 2015, 2016 , and 2018.
• Proof of Country of Origin: Relaxed requirements allow various documents, including birth or educational certificates, identity documents, licenses, land records, or any document proving previous citizenship of the mentioned countries.
• Date of Entry into India: Applicants can provide 20 different documents as proof of entry into India, including visas, residential permits, census slips, driving licenses, Aadhaar cards , ration cards, government or court letters, birth certificates.

What is the Mechanism for Implementation of CAA Rules?

• Background and security checks will be conducted by Central security agencies like the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
• Final decisions on applications will be made by empowered committees led by the Director (Census Operations) in each State.
• District-level committees , headed by the Superintendent of the Department of Post , will sift through applications, with a representative from the District Collector's office as an invitee.
• DLC will receive applications, and the final decision will be made by the Empowered Committee, headed by the Director (Census Operations).

What are the Associated Concerns with CAA?

• Exclusionary Nature: Critics argue that the CAA is exclusionary because it provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for undocumented migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, but only if they are Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi , or Christian. This exclusion of Muslims from these neighboring countries raises concerns about religious discrimination.
• Contradiction with Secularism: India's Constitution enshrines secularism , the principle of equality before the law irrespective of religion. By explicitly favoring certain religious groups over others, the CAA is seen as contradicting this secular ethos.
• Undermining Pluralism: India has a rich history of religious diversity and pluralism. Critics argue that the CAA undermines this diversity by privileging certain religious groups over others, potentially leading to social and religious polarisation.
• The CAA's provision of granting citizenship based on religion is seen as discriminatory.
• The Accord established criteria for determining citizenship in Assam, including specific cut-off dates for residency.
• The CAA's provision of a different timeline for granting citizenship could conflict with the provisions of the Assam Accord, leading to legal and political complications.

Way Forward

• Review and Amendment: The government could consider reviewing and amending the CAA to remove the religious criteria for citizenship. This would address the concerns about discrimination and uphold the principle of secularism enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
• Ensuring Equality: Any new legislation or amendments should ensure equality before the law for all individuals, regardless of their religion. This would align with the constitutional guarantee of the right to equality and non-discrimination under Article 14.
• Consultation and Dialogue: Engage in meaningful consultation and dialogue with stakeholders, including religious and community leaders, civil society organizations, and legal experts. This inclusive approach can help build consensus and address the concerns of all segments of society.
• Safeguarding Pluralism: Implement policies and programs that celebrate and safeguard India's religious diversity and pluralism. This could include initiatives to promote interfaith dialogue, cultural exchange, and mutual understanding among different religious communities.
• Legal Clarity : Provide clarity on the compatibility of the CAA with existing agreements and accords, such as the Assam Accord. Any discrepancies or conflicts should be addressed through legal mechanisms and transparent processes.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. With reference to India, consider the following statements: (2021)

• There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
• A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
• A foreigner once granted citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 (d) 2 and 3

Roman baths, a chocolate factory, Florida gardens: Time reveals 2024 World’s Greatest Places

The list is an eclectic mix of unique locations across the globe, like a chocolate factory in india and a cocktail bar in brussels. the u.s. also made the list, including spots in hawaii and buffalo..

Time revealed its 2024 World's Greatest Places list on Thursday, tantalizing travelers with 100 potential destinations.

The list features 50 tourist destinations and 50 hotels, a break from last year's format of naming 50 great cities.

"Travel industry trends often reflect the id of humanity: what the collective we desires most when unburdened from daily stressors and responsibilities," the magazine's editors wrote about the list. "While last year's list featured 50 cities, this year we decided to explore even more − and more specific − establishments that stand out in their field, and the world."

The list is sponsored by New Murraba , a mixed-use real estate development in Saudi Arabia.

Here are Time's 2024 World's Greatest Places.

Time's 2024 World's Greatest Places: Best Places to Visit

• Maui Cultural Lands Lahaina, Hawaii
• Kamba African Rainforest Experiences - Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo
• Pearling Path - Muharraq, Bahrain
• WA EV Network - Western Australia
• Aviva Studios, home of Factory International - Manchester, England
• Hassan Fathy's New Gourna Village - Luxor, Egypt
• Moroccan Culinary Arts Museum - Marrakech, Morocco
• Bab Al Salam Mosque - Muscat, Oman
• Reethaus - Berlin
• Ivomo Tea Cooperative - Gisakura, Rwanda
• Bar Magritte - Brussels
• Buffalo AKG - Buffalo, N.Y.
• Yum Cha - Santiago, Chile
• Saka Museum - Jimbaran, Indonesia
• The Diyarbakir Express - Turkey
• Iris - Hardangerfjord, Norway
• Grootbos Florilegium - Gansbaai, South Africa
• Dive Tutukaka - Tutukaka, New Zealand
• CPKC Stadium - Kansas City, Missouri
• VYN - Simrishamn, Sweden
• Kunstsilo - Kristiansand, Norway
• Sharaan Nature Reserve - Saudi Arabia
• Manam Chocolate - Hyderabad, India
• International African American Museum - Charleston, South Carolina
• Iberá Provincial Reserve - Corrientes province, Argentina
• Zeyrek Cinili Hamam - Istanbul
• Matterhorn Alpine Crossing - Switzerland and Italy
• Air CCCC - Singapore
• Baths of Caracalla - Rome
• Magugu House - Johannesburg
• Sanxingdui Museum - Guanghan, China
• The Rabbit hOle - North Kansas City, Missouri
• Naar - Himachal Pradesh, India
• Ruta de los Abastos - O'Higgins region, Chile
• Aranya - Beidaihe, China
• Hornsgatan Slow Fashion District - Stockholm
• Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza - Palm Springs, California
• Museum of Solutions - Mumbai
• Olivia Foundation - Mexico City
• Putep ‘t-awt - Cacouna, Quebec
• teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum - Tokyo
• La Maison Rabelais - Amboise, France
• EDP Art Reef - Albufeira, Portugal
• Origem - Salvador, Brazil
• CERN Science Gateway - Meyrin, Switzerland
• Museum of Mountain Jews - Red Village, Azerbaijan
• Montgomery Whitewater - Montgomery, Alabama
• Via Transilvanica - Romania
• Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Florida
• Abrahamic Family House - Abu Dhabi

Time's 2024 World's Greatest Places: Best Places to Stay

• Modern Elder Academy - Santa Fe, N.M.
• White Desert - Antarctica
• Angama Amboseli - Kimana Sanctuary, Kenya
• Bambu Indah - Ubud, Indonesia
• Vermelho Hotel - Melides, Portugal
• Sun Ranch - Coopers Shoot, Australia
• Our Habitas Ras Abrouq - Dukhan, Qatar
• Highland Base - Kerlingarfjoll, Iceland
• Snow Peak Long Beach Campfield - Long Beach Peninsula, Washington
• Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel - Amalfi, Italy
• Belmond's Eastern & Oriental Express - Malaysia
• Sinchi Wayra - Yasuní National Park, Ecuador
• Boca de Agua - Bacalar, Mexico
• Kantishna Roadhouse - Denali National Park, Alaska
• Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui - Koh Samui, Thailand
• Burhan Wilderness Camps - Bardiya, Nepal
• Le Grand Mazarin - Paris
• Silversands Beach House - St. George's, Grenada
• Dunas de Formentera - Formentera, Spain
• Dar Tantora - AlUla, Saudi Arabia
• Cortina d'Ampezzo - the Dolomites, Italy
• Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux - Norway
• The Wayback - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
• Sangwa Camp - Haa Valley, Bhutan
• The Manchester - Lexington, Kentucky
• Raffles London at the OWO - London
• Under Canvas Lake Powell-Grand Staircase - Big Water, Utah
• 100 Princes Street - Edinburgh
• Kwetu Nairobi - Nairobi
• Höfe Trail - Osttirol, Austria
• Natural Selection's Guided Cycling Safari - Okavango Delta, Botswana
• Fontainebleau - Las Vegas
• Mine + Farm Inn - Guerneville, California
• Casa Lucia - Buenos Aires
• wukalina Walk - Tasmania, Australia
• Melesin Distillery - Leskovik, Albania
• Potlatch Club - the Bahamas
• De Durgerdam - Durgerdam, the Netherlands
• Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
• Caiman House - Yupukari, Guyana
• Communal Kutaisi - Kutaisi, Georgia
• Warren Street Hotel - New York City
• One Za'abeel - Dubai
• Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection - Fort Worth, Texas
• Mt. Cook Lakeside Retreat - Lake Pukaki, New Zealand
• Silvestre Nosara - Nosara, Costa Rica
• Reverb by Hard Rock - Hamburg
• World Equestrian Center - Ocala, Florida
• The Inn at Stonecliffe - Mackinac Island, Michigan
• Omni Homestead Resort and Warm Springs Pools - Warm Springs, Virginia

MODI’S HINDUTVA POLICY AND ITS IMPACT ON INDO-PAK RELATIONS

• Shi Xiaolian Shanghai International Studies University, China
• Uzma Siraj Federal Urdu University, Islamabad
• Alla Ud Din Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

This research paper explores the Hindutva ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) by analysing its implications for Pakistan. BJP’s ascension to power led the Hindu Nationalist government to implement the Hindutva ideological rhetoric. With a substantial Muslim population living in India and rivalry with Pakistan, such policies have significant implications for the Indian Muslim community as well as for Pakistan. These Hindutva-driven policies have not only raised concern regarding minorities' rights in India, affecting Kashmiri Muslims but also raising security challenges for Pakistan. In the past decade, the legislative and executive bodies have been actively engaged in promoting this ideology, as evidenced by the amendment of national citizenship law, growing riots against Muslims, and the Indian government's policy towards Pakistan. By analysing the recent minorities-related events, this paper seeks to assess the impact of the policies of the BJP government towards the Indian Muslim community and its interaction with Pakistan.

Bibliography Entry

Xiaolian, Shi and Uzma Siraj and Alla Ud Din. 2024. "Modi’s Hindutva Policy and Its Impact on Indo-Pak Relations."  Margalla Papers  28 (1): 1-15.

Author Biographies

Shi xiaolian, shanghai international studies university, china.

Dr. Shi Xiaolian is Executive Dean of the World Institute of Politics, Economy and Technology, Adjunct Lecturer at Shanghai Open University，PhD, Shanghai International Studies University, China.

Uzma Siraj , Federal Urdu University, Islamabad

Dr. Uzma Siraj is Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of IR at Federal Urdu University Islamabad.

Alla Ud Din, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

Dr. Alla ud Din has PhD in IR from Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China.

How to Cite

• Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)

Copyright (c) 2024 Shi Xiaolian; Uzma Siraj , Alla Ud Din

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

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