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Union and Its Territory

Articles 1 to 4 under Part-I of the Constitution deal with the Union and its territory.

Article 1 declares India, that is, Bharat as a ‘Union of States’.

Article 2 empowers the Parliament to ‘admit into the Union of India, or establish, new
states on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit’. Thus, Article 2 grants two powers to
the Parliament: (a) the power to admit into the Union of India new states; and (b) the
power to establish new states.

Article 3 relates to the formation of or changes in the existing states of the Union of
India. In other words, Article 3 deals with the internal re-adjustment inter se of the
territories of the constituent states of the Union of India.

Some committees that were important in the reorganization of states in the Indian Union –
Dhar Commission, JVP Committee, Fazl Ali Commission and States Reorganization
Commission (1st one was in 1956).

New states that were created after 1956 with year - Maharashtra and Gujarat In 1960,
Goa, Daman and Diu India acquired these three territories from the Portuguese by
means of a police action in 1961. They were constituted as a union territory by the 12th
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1962. Later, in 1987, Goa was conferred a statehood,
Nagaland In 1963, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh In 1966, Manipur,
Tripura and Meghalaya In 1972, Sikkim in 1974-75, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh
and Goa In 1987, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand In 2000, and now most
recently Telangana on 2nd June, 2014.

The Citizenship

Part II covers articles 5-11 dealing with citizenship.

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

Rights conferred under Articles 15, 16, 19, 29 & 30.

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

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

Eligibility to hold certain public offices, that is, President of India, Vice-President of
India, judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts, governor of states, attorney
general of India and advocate general of states.

Articles 5-8 only deal with the citizenship of individuals who became citizens of India at
the commencement of the Constitution. Also, these articles take into account migration
issues.
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No person shall be a citizen of India or be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has

voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state (Article 9).

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

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

The citizenship in the Constitution of India is mentioned in the part II and articles 5 to 11 deals
with the concept of citizenship. The citizenship of India identifies the person only who became
the citizen of India on the day of the commencement of citizenship i.e. 26th January 1950. The
Parliament of India enacted the Citizenship Act in 1955 which has been amended in 1986,
1992, 2003 and 2005.
Originally the Citizenship Act 1955 also provided for the Commonwealth Citizenship but it
was deleted by the Citizenship Amendment Act 2003.

SINGLE CITIZENSHIP
The Constitution provides single citizenship to its citizens, the concept of single citizenship has
been borrowed from the Constitution of U.K. The citizens of India are only the citizens of the
union of India they don’t have the separate state citizenship, on the other hand the countries
like USA and Switzerland adopted the system of double citizenship where the person is not
only the citizen of the country but he is also the citizen of the state in which he lives in. Thus
the person enjoys the dual set of rights one set by the country and the others set by the state.

Citizenship of India can be acquired by:

• Birth
• Descent
• Registration
• Naturalization
• Incorporation of territory

Citizenship can be revoked through

• Termination
• Renunciation
• Acquisition of another country
• Deprivation
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CITIZENSHIP BY BIRTH
Every person born in India on or after the 26th January, 1950, is a citizen of India by birth
except if at the time of his birth-
A. His father possesses such immunity from suits and legal process as is accorded to an envoy
of a foreign sovereign power accredited to the President of India and is not a citizen of India;
or
B. His father is an enemy alien and the birth occurs in a place than under occupation by the
enemy.
From 1st July, 1987 i.e. the date of enforcement of the Citizenship
(amendment) Act, 1986, except as provided at a & b above, every person born in India on or
after 26th January, 1950 but before the commencement of the act and on or after such
commencement and either of whose parents a citizen in India at the time of his birth, shall be
citizen of India by birth.

CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT
A person born outside India-
a. On or after 26th January 1950 but before the commencement of the Citizenship
(Amendment) act, 1992, shall be a citizen of India by descent if his father is a citizen of India
at the time of his birth; or
(b) On or after such commencement, shall be a citizen of India by descent if either of his parents
is a citizen of India at the time of his birth:
Provided further if either of the parents of such a person referred to in clause (b) was a citizen
of India by descent only, that person is not be a citizen of India by virtue of this section unless-
a. his birth is registered at an Indian Consulate within one year of its occurrence or the
commencement of the Citizenship (amendment) act, 1992, whichever is later, or, with the
permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period; or
b. Either of his parents is at the time of his birth, in service under a Government of India.
CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION
Subject to certain conditions and restrictions, the Central Government, in the Ministry of home
Affairs, may, on application made in this behalf, register as a citizen of India any person who
is not already such citizen and belongs to any of the following categories-
a. Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in India and have been so resident for
five years immediately before making an application for registration. Prior to the coming into
force of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986 i.e. 1st July 1987, this period was six months.
b. Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in any country or place outside
undivided India;
c. Persons who are or have been married to citizens of India and are ordinarily resident in India
and have been so resident for five years immediately before making an application for
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registration. Prior to the Citizenship (amendment) act, 1986 the clause read " women who are
or have been married to citizens of India"
d. Minor children of persons who are citizens of India; and
e. Persons of full age and capacity who are citizens of a country specified in the first Schedule
of the citizenship Act, 1955.

CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION
Where an application is made in the prescribed manner by any person of full age and capacity
who is not a citizen of a country specified in the First Schedule 14.I for the grant of a certificate
of a naturalization to him, the Central Government may, if satisfied that the applicant is
qualified for naturalization under the provisions if the Third Schedule, grant to him a certificate
of naturalization.
Provided that, if in the opinion of the Central Government, the applicant is a person who has
rendered distinguished services to the cause of science, philosophy, art, literature, world peace
or human progress generally, it may waive all or any of the conditions specified in the Third
Schedule of Citizenship act, 1955.
The person to whom a certificate of naturalization is granted shall, on taking a oath of
allegiance in the form specified in the Second Schedule, be a citizen of India by naturalization
as from the date on which that certificate is granted.

Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019

The act states that the specified class of illegal migrants from the three countries will not be
treated as illegal migrants, making them eligible for citizenship. On acquiring citizenship,
such migrants shall be deemed to be Indian citizens from the date of their entry into India and
all legal proceedings regarding their status as illegal migrants or their citizenship will be
closed.
The Act allows a person to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, if the person meets
certain qualifications. One of the qualifications is that the person must have resided in India
or been in central government service for the last 12 months and at least 11 years of the
preceding 14 years. For the specified class of illegal migrants, the number of years of
residency has been relaxed from 11 years to five years.
However, it will not apply to certain areas. These are: (i) the tribal areas of Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and
(ii) the states regulated by the “Inner Line” permit under the Bengal Eastern Frontier
Regulations 1873. These Sixth Schedule tribal areas include Karbi Anglong (in Assam),
Garo Hills (in Meghalaya), Chakma District (in Mizoram), and Tripura Tribal Areas
District. Further, the Inner Line Permit regulates visit of all persons, including Indian
citizens, to Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

CITIZENSHIP BY INCORPORATION OF TERRITORY

If any territory becomes a part of India, the Central Government, may by orders notified in the
Official Gazette, specify the persons who shall be citizens of India by reasons of their
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connection with that territory, and those persons shall be citizens of India as from the date to
be specified in the order.

TERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship is terminated either by renunciation, acquisition and deprivation of citizenship of
another country.

BY RENUCIATION
If any citizen of India of full age and capacity, who is also a citizen or national of another
country, makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship; the
declaration shall be registered by the prescribed authority, and upon such registration, that
person shall cease to be a citizen of Indian. Provided that if any such declaration is made during
any war in which India may be engaged, registration thereof shall be withheld until the Central
government otherwise directs.
Where a person ceases to be a citizen of India every minor child of that person shall thereupon
cease to be a citizen of India, provided that any such child may, within one year after attaining
full age, make a declaration that he wishes to resume Indian citizenship and shall thereupon
again become a citizen of India.

BY ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP OF OTHER COUNTRY

Any citizen of India who by naturalization, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires, or
has at any time between the 26th January 1950 and the commencement of this Act voluntarily
acquired, the citizenship of another country, cease to be a citizen of India. However, this does
not apply to a citizen of India, during any war in which India may be engaged, voluntarily
acquires the citizenship of another country, until the Central Government otherwise directs.
If any question arises as to whether, when or how any person has acquired the citizenship of
another country, it shall be determined by such authority, in such manner, and having regard
to such rules of evidence, as may be prescribed in this behalf.

BY DEPRIVIATION
The Central government under section 10 of the Indian citizenship Act, 1955 deprives any
citizen of Indian Citizenship if it is satisfied that-
a. the registration or certificate of naturalization was obtained by means of fraud, false
representation or concealment of any material fact; or
b. that citizen has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards the
Constitution of India as by law established; or
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c. that citizen has, during the war in which India may be engaged, unlawfully traded or
communicated with an enemy or been engaged in or associated with, any business that was to
his knowledge carried on in such manner as to assist any enemy in that war; or
d. that citizen has, within five years after registration or naturalization, been sentenced in any
country to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years; or
e. That citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for a continuos period of seven years,
and during that period, has neither been at any time a student of any educational institution in
a country outside India or in the service of a Government of India or of an International
organization of which India is a member, nor registered annually in the prescribed manner at
an Indian consulate his intention to retain his citizenship of India.
f. The Central Government shall not deprive a person of citizenship unless it is satisfied that it
is not conducive to the public good that person should continue to be a citizen of India.

OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA

The Government of India gives the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) which is sometimes
mistakenly referred as the Dual Citizenship. The Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) who have
migrated from India and acquired the citizenship of foreign country other than Pakistan and
Bangladesh are eligible to get OCI as far as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some
form or other under their local laws.

Ministry of Home Affairs defines an OCI as a person who was a citizen of India on or after
26th January 1950 or Was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January 1950 or Is a
child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria.

• In the year 2015, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015 merged the Person of Indian Origin
(PIO) category with OCI category.

• An OCI is a citizen of another country.

• An OCI gets multiple-entry long-term visa for visiting India.

• An OCI is not at par with NRIs in all matters.

The OCI does not enjoy all the privileges as the permanent citizens such as
1. They will not get an Indian passport.
2. They are not allowed to vote
3. They do not have the right to contest the contest the election and they cannot become the
member of either house of Parliament or state legislature.
4. They cannot hold the Constitutional post or any other post under the government of India.
5. They cannot acquire agricultural or plantation properties in India but they can inherit
such properties.
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Q. Which one of the following statements regarding an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) is not
correct?

A. An OCI is a citizen of another country.

B. An OCI possesses multiple-entry long-term visa for visiting India.
C. An OCI is at par with NRIs in all matters.
D. An OCI is not entitled to the fundamental right to equality of opportunity in public
employment.

UPSC EPFO Enforcement

Officer(2017)

Answer ||| C

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