The population of a State is broadly divided into two classes: citizens and aliens. Citizens are the individuals who constitute the backbone of the political community.

Rights of a Citizen: A citizen of a State is a person who enjoys full civil and political rights, whereas an alien does not enjoy these comprehensive rights.

Exclusive Constitutional Rights: Certain Fundamental Rights under the Constitution of India are guaranteed strictly to citizens only. These include:

1. Article 15: Protection against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

2. Article 16: Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

3. Article 19: Freedom of speech, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession.

4. Articles 29 & 30: Cultural and educational rights for minorities.

Eligibility for High Offices: Only citizens can occupy top constitutional positions such as the President, Vice-President, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Governor of a State, Attorney General, and Advocate General.

Political Participation: The right to vote (franchise) and the right to contest elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures are exclusively reserved for Indian citizens.

Single Citizenship: Although India has a federal structure with a dual polity (Central and State governments), the Constitution enforces a regime of single citizenship. There is only one common Indian Citizenship, and individuals owe allegiance to the nation as a whole; there is no separate citizenship for individual States.

The legal necessity of defining citizenship strictly arose during the Partition of British India, which created two independent nations: India and Pakistan. Consequently, Indian citizenship law is categorized into two distinct chronological parts:

Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution.

Citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.

II] CITIZENSHIP AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

Articles 5 to 11 (Part II of the Constitution) laid down the framework to determine who qualified as a citizen of India on the exact date of its commencement: January 26, 1950.

1) Citizens by Domicile (Article 5)

Under Article 5, every person who had their domicile in the territory of India at the commencement of the Constitution became an Indian citizen if they fulfilled any one of the following three criteria:

a) He or she was born in the territory of India; or

b) Either of his or her parents was born in the territory of India; or

c) He or she had been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding the commencement of the Constitution. Citizenship = Domicile + (a) or (b) or (c)

2) Citizenship by Migration (Article 6)

Article 6 addresses individuals who migrated from Pakistan to India due to Partition. A person who migrated from Pakistan became an Indian citizen if he/she (or either parent/grandparent) was born in undivided India, subject to a cut-off date:

i. Migrated before July 19, 1948: Must have been ordinarily resident in India since the date of migration.

ii. Migrated on or after July 19, 1948: Must have registered as a citizen by submitting an application to an officer appointed by the Government of India, provided they had resided in India for at least six months immediately preceding the application date.

3) Citizens by Registration for Persons Living Abroad (Article 8)

According to Article 8, any person who (or either of whose parents or grandparents) was born in undivided India, but is ordinarily residing in any country outside India and Pakistan, can be registered as an Indian citizen. This registration must be done through the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the foreign country of residence. This provision ensures individuals of Indian origin living abroad can claim their nationality roots.

III] ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP AFTER THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

(The Citizenship Act, 1955)

The constitutional provisions (Articles 5–10) were designed exclusively to settle who were citizens on January 26, 1950. They did not dictate the future acquisition or loss of citizenship. Exercising powers under Article 11, the Parliament enacted The Citizenship Act, 1955, to govern all subsequent matters.

The Act explicitly applies only to natural human beings; it does not confer citizenship on juristic persons like companies, corporations, or associations.

Currently, there are five modern pathways to acquire citizenship under this Act:

1) Citizenship by Birth (Section 3)

The criteria for obtaining citizenship by birth have grown progressively stricter over time via statutory amendments to prevent illegal migration:

Born between Jan 26, 1950, and July 1, 1987: A person born in India is a citizen by birth irrespective of the nationality of their parents.

Born between July 1, 1987, and Dec 3, 2004: A person born in India is a citizen if at least one of their parents was an Indian citizen at the time of birth.

Born on or after December 3, 2004: A person born in India is a citizen only if both parents are Indian citizens, or if one parent is an Indian citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of birth.

Exceptions: A person cannot acquire citizenship by birth if their father/mother enjoys diplomatic immunity and is not an Indian citizen, or if the parent is an enemy alien and the birth occurs in a place under enemy occupation.

2) Citizenship by Descent (Section 4)

This covers individuals born outside India on or after January 26, 1950:

Born between Jan 26, 1950, and Dec 10, 1992: A citizen if the father was an Indian citizen at the time of birth.

Born on or after December 10, 1992: A citizen if either parent was an Indian citizen at the time of birth.

Born on or after December 3, 2004: A person born outside India does not automatically become a citizen by descent unless the birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of its occurrence, or with special permission from the Central Government.

3) Citizenship by Registration (Section 5)

The Central Government may, upon receiving an application, register any person (who is not an illegal migrant) as a citizen of India if they fall under categories such as:

i. Persons of Indian origin (PIO) [Abolition of the PIO Card: Previously, India maintained two distinct schemes for the diaspora: Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards. In 2015, the Government merged the two regimes. The PIO card was discontinued, and all existing PIO cardholders were automatically classified as OCI Cardholders.] who have been ordinarily resident in India for seven years preceding the application. (Note: Raised from 5 years by later amendments).

ii. Persons married to an Indian citizen who have been ordinarily resident in India for seven years.

iii. Minor children of parents who are citizens of India.

4) Citizenship by Naturalisation (Section 6)

A person of full age and capacity can apply for naturalisation if they meet strict criteria listed in the Third Schedule:

i. They are not a citizen of a country that blocks Indians from naturalising.

ii. They renounce their previous foreign citizenship.

iii. They have resided in India or been in Government service for a continuous period of 12 months immediately preceding the application.

iv. During the 14 years immediately preceding the 12 months, they have resided/served for a cumulative period of at least 11 years.

v. They possess good character, intend to reside in India, and have adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

The 2019 CAA Amendment Exception: Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, illegal migrants belonging to six minority communities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians) from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, are exempted from being treated as illegal migrants. For these specific individuals, the residency requirement for naturalisation was slashed from 11 years to 5 years.

5) Citizenship by Incorporation of Territory (Section 7)

If any foreign territory becomes a part of India, the Central Government specifies through an official gazette notification which persons of that territory automatically become citizens of India (e.g., when Pondicherry joined India, the Government issued the Citizenship (Pondicherry) Order, 1962).

IV] TERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP

The Citizenship Act, 1955, outlines three precise methods by which an individual loses or forfeits their Indian citizenship:

1) By Renunciation (Section 8)

Any adult citizen of India of full capacity can make a formal declaration renouncing their Indian citizenship. Upon registration of this declaration, the person ceases to be an Indian citizen.

Child clause: When a person renounces Indian citizenship, every minor child of that person also loses their citizenship. However, such a child may resume Indian citizenship by making a declaration within one year of attaining the age of 18.

2) By Termination (Section 9)

India maintains a strict policy against dual nationality. If a citizen of India voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, their Indian citizenship automatically terminates by operation of law. This provision does not apply during a war in which India is actively engaged.

3) By Deprivation (Section 10)

Deprivation is an involuntary, compulsory termination of Indian citizenship enacted by an order of the Central Government. This applies if citizenship was acquired via Registration or Naturalisation, and it is discovered that:

i. The citizenship was obtained through fraud, false representation, or concealment of a material fact.

ii. The citizen has shown disloyalty or disaffection toward the Constitution of India.

iii. The citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy during a war.

iv. Within five years of registration or naturalisation, the citizen has been sentenced to imprisonment in any country for a term of not less than two years.

v. The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for a continuous period of seven years (without being a student, public servant, or registering annually at an Indian consulate).

Abolition of Commonwealth Citizenship (Repeal of Section 11): The original draft of the 1955 Act included provisions for "Commonwealth Citizenship". This status was completely abolished by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, which repealed Section 11 to address modern security concerns.

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