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Enjoyment of some of the fundamental rights, and many of the statutory rights in India
are dependent on having Indian citizenship.
In the first model, citizenship is granted to all those who are born within the territory of
the country, regardless of the nationality of the parents.
In the second model, citizenship is granted to one based on the nationality of any of or
both the parents, regardless of the place of birth.
India has been following a combination of both these models in its citizenship laws.
As per Article 5 of the Constitution, a person with domicile in India is an Indian citizen,
if :
So, domicile coupled with birth or descent are the main factors for citizenship.
It will be interesting to note that during the framing of the Constitution, some members
argued for including religion as a factor for grant of citizenship. But this proposal
was rejected by the Constituent Assembly, which envisioned India as a secular republic.
The Constitution also had provisions for granting citizenship to those migrated from
Pakistan, based on fulfilling certain conditions (Article 6).
The Constitution also stated that a law made by Parliament on citizenship will have
overriding effect on the provisions of Constitution (Article 11). The Citizenship
Act passed by the Parliament in 1955 is that law. Various changes made to this law have
considerably diluted the principle of jus soli for Indian citizenship.
There are four modes of acquiring citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1955 :
1. Citizenship by birth
2. Citizenship by descent
3. Citizenship by registration.
4. Citizenship by naturalization.
When the law was first made in 1955, this Section stated that all those who are born in
India on or after January 1, 1950 will be an Indian citizen.
This was amended in 1986, and birthright citizenship was limited to those who were born
in India between January 1, 1950 and January 1, 1987.
An added condition that one of the parents must be an Indian citizen was introduced for
granting citizenship to those who were born in India after January 1, 1987. It also
changed the definition of 'Indian origin' by excluding from its purview those people
whose grand-parents, but not parents, were born in India.
The condition for birthright citizenship was further tightened after 2003 amendment,
which stated that those who were born after December 3, 2004 will be eligible for Indian
citizenship only if one of the parents is an Indian citizen and the other is not an illegal
migrant.
An individual, who is born outside India and either of whose parents is a citizen of India
at the time of her birth, will be a citizen of India by descent. But this is subject to
fulfilling a condition that her birth should be registered with an Indian consulate within 1
year, along with a declaration that she does not hold a passport of any other country.
This mode opens the door of Indian citizenship to foreign citizens who have some bond
with an Indian citizen by way of marriage or ancestry. The applicant has to satisfy the
conditions of prescribed periods of domicile in India for this.
Congress politician Sonia Gandhi obtained Indian citizenship through this method.
This is the route for Indian citizenship for those individuals who have no link with India
by way of blood, soil or marriage.
The conditions for naturalization are mentioned in the Third Schedule of the Act.
The applicant (not being an illegal migrant) must have been a resident in India for a
continuous period of 12 months before making the application. And out of the period of
fourteen years before the said period of 12 months, the applicant must have resided in
India for an aggregate of 11 years.
Pakistan singer Adnan Sami and Dalai Lama are examples of persons who got citizenship
under Section 6.
The Centre has the power to waive of all the conditions of naturalization for an individual
who in its opinion has rendered distinguished service to the cause of science, philosophy,
art, literature, world peace or human progress.
Those who obtain citizenship by registration and naturalization have to declare an oath of
allegiance to India, and should renounce their previous citizenship.
The Supreme Court in the case of K. Krishna Vs. Union of India and ors J.T. 2007(7)
SC 258 observed that an individual cannot claim citizenship by way of naturalization as a
matter of. It is the pleasure of the Government of India to grant or not to grant.
1. renunciation,
2. termination
3. deprivation.
A person may renounce their Indian citizenship, by submitting a declaration to that effect
to the prescribed authority. On registration, the individual and her minor child will cease
to be citizens of India . The minor child on attaining majority, has the option of resuming
the Indian citizenship by submitting an application to the concerned authority, within a
year of attaining majority.
Since Indian law does not recognize dual citizenship, an individual ceases to be an Indian
citizen on acquiring citizenship of another country.
Only the citizenship which has been acquired by way of registration or naturalization can
be cancelled.
As stated above, Indian law does not permit dual citizenship. However, in view of the
long standing demands of persons of Indian origin who have acquired foreign citizenship,
the concept of Overseas Citizenship of India was introduced through the 2005
amendment made to the Citizenship Act.
Section 7A was inserted in the Act, to provide for OCI card for Persons of Indian origin.
OCI is not actual citizenship of India. It is a status, which gives certain privileges such as
multiple-entry & mult-purpose life long visa, exemption for registration under Foreigners
Act, parity with Non-Resident Indians. It has many limitations such as no right to vote,
no right to hold constitutional offices, and no right to buy agricultural properties