Citizenship Act, 1955

Citizenship can be defined as a relationship between a nation and an individual of that specific nation. It is the quality that must be possessed by an individual to become or be a citizen of a country. Citizenship ensures that a person is committed to a nation’s duties and responsibilities. A nation ensures welfare of  its citizens by providing required social rights, political rights, civil rights along with the freedom they deserve. The citizenship Act is a type of act that regulates and controls an individual’s citizenship rights. In this article, you will learn in detail about the Citizenship Act 1955 and its amendments. In this blog you will learn more about Citizenship Act 1955, Indian Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship Act 1955 amended how many times.

Citizenship Act 1955:

The citizenship act is an act that is run by the legislation to ensure the rights and duties of a citizen.The citizenship act 1955 is also popularly known as Indian nationality law. This ensures that the individuals of the nation hold the position as Indian citizens. The Constitution of India along with the Indian Citizenship Act 1955 governs the citizenship status of a person. This act was enacted by the Parliament of India and commenced on 30 December 1955.

Citizenship procurement:

According to the Indian Citizenship Act 1955, one can acquire the status of an Indian citizen by the following way:

• Citizenship through birth – An individual born in India is applicable for Indian citizenship. 
• Citizenship through descent – This is applicable for people whose parents are from India but that specific individual was born in a foreign country.
• Citizenship through registration – This is applicable to individuals who have Indian ancestors.
• Citizenship through naturalisation –  This is for people who have a long record of staying in India.
• Citizenship through the incorporation of territory – This is for individuals in a region that is incorporated by the Government of India.
• Citizenship provision to people belonging to Assam Accord.

Citizenship Termination:

According to the Indian Citizenship Act 1955, one can be revoked from the status of the Indian citizen under the following conditions. They are:

• Renunciation of citizenship: When an individual is willingly rejecting his rights of citizenship, his citizenship is revoked in a legal manner. 
• Termination of citizenship: If an Indian citizen accepts the citizenship of another nation voluntarily, their Indian citizenship can be revoked.
• Deprivation of citizenship: This is directly done by the Government of India. This is common for people who have obtained their citizenship through Naturalisation, registration and through Article 5. Some common reasons for revoking of citizenship are:

• If an individual does some act or speech that is disrespectful or against the nation.
• If an individual performs deceitful acts in obtaining Indian citizenship.
• If an individual is involved in anti-nationalist activities like sharing, trading or communicating national secrets to enemies of the nation during a war.
• If a citizen who has not returned to India for more than 7 years and lives outside India, excluding educational and nationally official reasons.

Citizenship and Constitution:

The constitution provision of India has included some articles related to the citizenship act 1955. This includes Articles 5 to 11 of the Indian Constitution that falls under Part 2 of it.

• Citizenship is the focus of Article 5 at the outset of the Constitution.
• Article 6 pertains to the citizenship rights of certain individuals who have migrated to India from Pakistan.
• Article 7 deals with the citizenship rights of certain Pakistani migrants.
• Article 8 describes in full the citizenship rights of certain persons of Indian heritage who live outside of India.
• Article 9 discloses that a person who willingly acquires citizenship of a foreign country is not a citizen of that country.
• Article 10 deals with the continuation of citizenship rights.
• Article 11 outlines how Parliament might govern the right to citizenship through legislation.

Citizenship Amendment:

The answer to the question Citizenship Act 1955 amended how many times is 5. The act has been amended five times until now. They are:

1. 1986: This gave Indian citizenship to people born in India between January 1950 and July 1987.
2. 2003: It states that citizenship will be provided to an individual only if both or any one of the parents is Indian.
3. 2005: Section 7A was replaced with a new section and the Overseas citizens of India registration rules were authorised.
4. 2015: It deals with registration and naturalisation citizenship and overseas citizenship.
5. 2019: Members of six communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, including Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Christians, are allowed to stay in India if they arrived before December 14, 2014.

Conclusion:

The citizenship act 1955 is an important act as it provides the identity of an individual belonging to a particular place or nation. It helps to provide the individual with the basic rights they need. The citizenship act 1955 is very important as it provides the fundamental rights of the Indian nation to its individuals.The regular amendment of the law and the proper regulation of the act has made the citizenship act 1955 unique and sustainably run the nation despite several social issues.