Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur

(Please note that these notes are personally typed by me, Atish Mathur, and I take full responsibility for them)

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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Theme 2 : Topic 2 : Sub Topic 1 : Dimensions of Citizenship I

Each of these dimensions of Citizenship are political, civil, geographical

and non social forms of identity which play a crucial role in determining the
relationship of an individual with their respective government and the
world.

1. Nationality : Refers to the place, region, or a country where a person was born or originally belongs to. It
is where the roots of an individual lie. It is not a legal concept but a universal or moral one and usually can
never be changed. Therefore, mostly, it would also mean single nationality as the roots are usually to a
single country. However, nowadays, nationality and citizenship are often used interchangeably with one
another, and when done so, the meaning of nationality changes. It would then also mean a state of being
part of a nation by birth or naturalisation or ties to a specific country.

2. Citizenship : Refers to the official membership of a sovereign State. It means the government recognises
the individual as a legitimate entity to access full rights and privileges under its jurisdiction. This is a purely
legal concept, and can be changed. Some countries also offer dual citizenship.

3. Domicile : Depending on the layer or level, it would have two separate meanings.
a. National/Federal : It refers to the permanent home or place where a person resides with the
intention to remain there for an indefinite amount of time. In countries offering only single
citizenship, single domicile and single citizenship often coincide with one another. This has a legal
as well as geographical connotation to it. Although, like citizenship it can be changed but with
substantial legal complications. The Constitution of India only recognises a national single
domicile.

b. State/Regional/Provincial/Sub-National : Citizens of a country having a national domicile of the

country to also opt for a state domicile of a specific state or province. One can hold the state
domicile of only one state at a time. It is generally a welfare concept, and by being a domicile of a
specific state, the citizen is entitled to some exclusive benefits and opportunities relating to
education, health, state government schemes etc. This can be changed but not too frequently, and
each state of India would have her own rules of granting and revoking domicile.

4. Residency : It simply implies a physical state of currently living in a particular place. It would also be at a
national and a state level. Residency would mean where a person has been currently living for a decently
recent period. It has a legal, geographical, and economic connotation. Legally, some laws recognise
‘ordinarily resident’ as a criteria for granting some benefits and opportunities such as transferring one’s
name to a new voters list. It could also be used to determine legitimacy to contest elections for state
elections. It could also have an economic aspect relating to tax burden. Residency can be defined
differently in different laws offering different privileges.

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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Theme 2 : Topic 2 : Sub Topic 1 : Dimensions of Citizenship II

Key Insights
1. Citizens of India enjoy all fundamental rights while only a few are available to foreigners.
2. Citizens can vote, contest elections, and hold public office while foreigners can't.
3. Citizens have greater property rights than foreigners in India.
4. Resident Indians and NRIs have the exact same fundamental and voting rights as well the opportunity to
contest public office.
5. Resident Indians have greater property rights than NRIs.
6. NRIs are defined under the Income Tax Act, 1969 and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
They are exempted from local taxation laws on the income they earn outside India. However, any income
they earn in India would be taxable.
7. A legal migrant is a foreigner residing in India with valid travel documents. These valid travel documents
include a valid and genuine passport and visa.
8. A friendly alien is a legal migrant who is not an enemy alien.
9. An enemy alien is a legal migrant from a country officially declared as one who’s migrants would be
considered as enemy aliens. This is done on a case to case basis. Enemy Aliens enjoy all fundamental
rights available to legal migrants/friendly aliens except the protections with respect to Prevention Detention
under Art 22 of the Constitution of India.
10. A passport is an international travel document issued by the government of the home country
certifying that the person is a law abiding citizen of that country. A visa is a permission document issued by
the host country authorising the person holding a valid passport the permission to travel to the said
country for a specific purpose and for a specific time. A passport is a proof of citizenship but not having a
passport is not proof that a person is not an Indian citizen. Nowadays, some countries also have
introduced permanent residency which allows legal migrants unlimited stay in the host country without any
voting rights per se.
11. Refugees are people fleeing their home country due to conflict or fear of persecution. The 1951
Geneva Convention is the primary international document defining the term refugee, their rights, as well as
the legal obligations of the States to protect them. India has NOT ratified the 1951 convention. Internally
displaced persons (IDPs) are people fleeing one region of their country to another region to the same
country, they don’t cross international borders.
12. Illegal Migrants are foreigners in India without valid travel documents. They are criminals in the eyes
of law, and if caught, would be subject to legal proceedings.
13. An illegal migrant is prima facie ineligible to apply for citizenship. Only legal migrants can apply for
Indian citizenship.
14. Countries with higher or increasing rates of population would generally have tougher citizenship laws.
15. Aadhar is not a proof of Citizenship but Voter ID is.

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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Theme 2 : Topic 2 : Sub Topic 2 : Citizenship Policy

Key Insights -
1. Constitutional provisions primarily address three aspects -
a. How to become an Indian Citizen as on 26 January 1950
b. Migration centric provisions allotting Citizenship
c. Single Citizenship
2. Entry 17 of the Union List in Schedule VII allows for Citizenship laws to be exclusively enacted by the
Parliament.
3. In a rare scenario, Art 11 empowers the Parliament to make a law governing citizenship that may be
given primacy over the constitutional provisions pertaining to citizenship.
4. The Citizenship Act primarily addresses two aspects -
a. How to become an Indian Citizenship after 26 January 1950
b. Loss of Citizenship
5. The Citizenship Act has been amended several times such as in 1987 and 2003. The most recent and
known amendment was in 2019, known as the CAA, 2019 or the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
6. The Citizenship Act, 1955 is the law primarily governing citizenship today.
7. The Supreme Court has interpreted the right to citizenship to be a constitutional as well as a statutory
right [NHRC v. State of Arunachal Pradesh (1996)
8. Several pre Independence laws such as Passport Act, Registration of Foreigners Act, Foreigners Act are
still in force. They primarily regulate the activities of foreigners in India.
9. The Ministry of Home Affairs in the apex Ministry incharge of citizenship policy in India. Applications for
grant of Citizenship are either made directly to the Home Ministry or the District Magistrate. The DM has
to necessarily forward the citizenship applications duly received to the Ministry.
10. The Bureau of Immigration (BoI) is an executive authority set up under the MHA to manage entry
and exit check points across Air, Sea, Land, Rail, River boundaries. Several Foreigner Regional
Registration Officers (FRROs) are under the BoI to oversee the checkpoints at regional levels.
11. State Governments also have provided for dedicated Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs) to
facilitate foreigners. In emergency situations and in cases where no FROs are positioned, the DMs and
SPs of the districts assume the role of FROs.

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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Theme 2 : Topic 2 : Sub Topic 3 : Principles & Laws Governing Citizenship

(Please do not memorise the technical provisions, they are not asked in the exam)

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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Theme 2 : Topic 2 : Sub Topic 4 : Case Studies & Analysis

Case Study : CAA, 2019 & NRC 2019

(Given the nature of the issue, it is very unlikely that a direct question will be asked from here. However, the
issue of CAA 2019 led to the Shaheen Bagh Protests wherein the blockade was challenged before the SC.
The SC in the case of Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police, Delhi in 2020 held that while there is an implied
right to protest under Art 19, there is no right to protest indefinitely and the right to protest must be balanced
with other rights. The CAA issue can quoted as reference in an answer on Art 19 and as ethical dilemma
between law, morality, and religion in Paper IV - Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude)

Context :

1. An exception to the term illegal migrants was added via the CAA 2019 to the term ‘illegal migrant’ used in the
Citizenship Act, 1955.
2. The exception stated that Non Muslim illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who
have entered India before 2014 shall not be considered illegal migrants anymore from the date of their illegal
entry into India.
3. One has to be a legal migrant to be eligible for Indian Citizenship. Therefore, the people exempted above
would now become legal migrants and be eligible for Indian Citizenship.
4. Furthermore, additional relaxation was granted under Registration and Naturalisation provisions for the
above exempted people. They would only require to have residency in India for 5 years as opposed to longer
times for ordinary legal migrants.
5. This was seen to be discriminatory on grounds of Religion and was argued that Art 14 - Right to Equality, Art
21 - Life & LIberty, and Art 25 - Freedom of Religion were available to Citizens and Foreigners alike.
6. The government responded by stating that non muslims were a minority in these countries and were often
subjected to disadvantages and persecution, and the State was trying to rehabilitate them.
7. Simultaneously, SC ordered for the National Register of Citizens to be prepared for the state of Assam owing
to a petition arising out of massive migration from Bangladesh to Assam in 1971 during the Liberation of
Bangladesh.
8. As the name suggests, NRC is a list of Indian Citizens. This enumeration would be nationally conducted as a
subset of conducting the Census.
9. India only has a nationwide NRC conducted in 1951 post independence. People in Assam were asked to
prove their citizenship either by having their or their relatives name in the NRC conducted in 1951 or the
voters list prepared before March 1971 in Assam.
10. As an outcome, several lakhs of people were omitted from the NRC for the state of Assam. Most of
these people would arguably belong to the Islamic religion.
11. Applying the newly added provisions due to the CAA 2019, the Non Muslim migrants now declared
illegal migrants would become legal migrants and citizenship could be granted to them.
12. The remaining illegal migrants were reportedly sent to detention centres and subjected to difficult
conditions.
13. Therefore, NRC for the State of Assam in 2019 added a layer of critique to the CAA, 2019.

Way Forward : A concrete discussion with Bangladesh is essential to determine the outcome of this
process. The states in India must step up to absorb these illegal migrants to release the burden of a specific
state. While India already has a massive welfare expenditure, we also have a larger responsibility towards
humanity at a global scale as a Vishwaguru.

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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Analysis : Should India revise its Single Citizenship Policy?

Context :

As per Foreign Minister’s response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, over 16 lakh Indians have renounced
their citizenship since 2011. 2023 recorded the highest annual aggregate of 2,25,620 Indians giving up their
citizenship. US, Canada, and Australia in that order are the most preferred destinations of such ex-Indians.

With the world becoming a more connected one, the strict concept of Citizenship is slowly but steadily
becoming more flexible. 85 countries in the world offer dual citizenship while most western democracies have
evolved to the concept of ‘permanent residency’ wherein a person has a very similar status except civil and
political rights exclusive to a citizen.

Economic Diplomacy has also played a key role in this regard. About 30 countries in the world offer residence
or semi-citizenship programs upon investment while only 11 countries directly offer full citizenship upon
undertaking significant investments in that country.

Today, citizenship is used as a tool of soft power and to attract the finest talent and potential from anywhere in
the world.

Passports of Japan, France, Germany, Italy are ranked as the best. Indian Passports are ranked 80th as per
the 2024 Henley Passports Index offering 62 countries as visa free destinations. Most of these countries are in
the South Asian region with a few in Africa.

Cost Benefit Analysis of Double Citizenship :

Dual Citizenship works on the principle of reciprocity. Citizens of both mutually agreeing countries must allow
their citizens to have citizenship of each other. In addition to this, both countries may also need to execute
double taxation avoidance agreements to ensure the practical benefits of dual citizenship are achieved.

It generally allows for smoother movement of people translating into better economic and social growth and
ties.

Dual citizenships generally are accompanied with exhaustive terms and conditions which should not be an
issue for a country like India. Given the large India Diaspora who are left with no choice but to surrender
Indian Citizenship, and dual citizenship could be a good effort in that regard.

Way Forward :

While the idea of dual citizenship sounds like a good one in principle, the practical implications of it given the
hostile neighbourhood of India make it an unfeasible policy. Also, we have the scheme of Overseas Citizens of
India which practically has limited dual citizenship and allows for greater connection of our Diaspora to their
motherland.

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 Magna Carta Foundation (Prelims & Mains) 2024/2025 : Notes by Atish Mathur
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PYQ Analysis :

1. Only 1 question asked in Prelims in 2021

2. No direct question in the mains but contextually can be used in topics such as Globalisation
and Population Issues in Paper I, Rights & Human Resources in Paper II.

Space for Current Affairs Updates

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