Article 7 and its constituents

Under the Constitution of India, the population is divided into citizens and non-citizens. Thereby, the citizens enjoy fundamental rights accompanied with access to fundamental rights, although the non-citizens are devoid of such rights. In this view, citizenship rights are essential for every individual as it is directly linked with sustenance factors.

 It defines public freedom, which is composed of civil sets, political, social and economic rights that a person residing within the country enjoys. There are varied types of citizenship rights, including my family, birth, marriage, or others. Articles ranging from 5 to 11 majorly deal with the citizenship rights of migrants in India.  

Article 7 – Main constituents. 

The first clause of the Indian Constitution depicts that any individual that has migrated from Indian territory to the areas that are now part of Pakistan will not exercise their rights as Indian citizens. 

Also, if a person has applied for resettlement after already migrating to Pakistan from India, then citizenship approval will be done under an officer hired by the government of India. 

It will be treated as clause (b) of Article 6, which grants citizenship rights considering the migration was done after July 19 1948. The migration of such individuals might be under issued return or resettlement permits, although the document must officially sign off the signatory’s authority. 

Characteristics of Article 7

The Indian Constitution grants the use and exercise of fundamental rights only to citizens of India. Also, citizenship rights are essential as employability in many public jobs like the judiciary, president, prime minister are given to Indian citizens only. The characteristic is listed below. 

• The first clause mentions that Indians who migrated to Pakistan cannot exercise their Indian Citizenship rights.
• Also, it mentions that any individual who migrated to the territory from Pakistan must have legalised or lawful return or resettlement notice.  
• The citizenship rights will be approved under an official who obliges the pattern and process under the Indian government. The officer is obligated to conduct an investigation and verify essential documents before approving citizenship to the migrant. 
• Citizenship will not be granted on six months of living or residing evidence within the country. 

Persons that were deemed to be citizens 

From articles 5 to 8, the Indian Constitution identifies four types of citizens eligible for Indian citizenship rights. They are listed below.

Citizenship through domicile: This defines a person can acquire citizenship if their parents were born in India. Or any person has been an ordinary resident in Indian territory for not more than five years. In simpler words, the person must have a permanent house either by owned residence or through parents. 

Citizenship to migrants from Pakistan:  The migrants from Pakistan were categorised into two sub-categories. One who migrated before July 19 1948, and the other who migrated after partition was declared. 

Although article 7 condemned migration of citizens from India to Pakistan and was returned to the territory after March 1 1947, on resettlement notice or permits. Thus, the individual must have resided in India for six months before applying for recitation or citizenship.

Citizenship to those residing outside India: Indians residing out of India can also apply for citizenship if they have a permanent or parental residence in India. If parents or grandparents are born in India, a non-resident of India can then be granted Indian citizenship. However, the documentation must be as per the Government Act 1935. Also, they should have a criminal background and must be registered through consular representatives. 

Provisions under Article 7 (excepted from Citizenship Amendment Act 1955)

Citizen by Birth- Any individual born after 1950 (January 1) will be deemed a citizen from birth. The limit was expanded by including all born between January 1 1950, and July 1 1987. The Citizenship Amendment Act 2003 has identified citizenship by birth if the person was not an illegal migrant. Also, when either of the parents is born in India and is now living outside the territory, they can apply for citizenship. 

Citizenship through descent: The individual outside the Indian territory can apply for citizenship if either of the parents was residing in India during birth. Thus, the individual’s birth certificate should be from an Indian municipal corporation with proof of residence of the parent. 

Citizenship through registration: If either partner is Indian, then citizenship can be granted. The marriage to an Indian citizen should not be less than years at registration. 

Indian Constitution also has provision for Article 7 impeachments depending on bills passed by parliament. In addition, any article could be impeached relying on socio-economic circumstances. 

Conclusion 

The Indian Constitution has laid down laws for migrants from Pakistan on return or resettlement notice. Article 7 devoid exercising of citizenship rights after migration from India to Pakistan. Also, even after migration, citizen rights can be granted if the individual has resettlement or returns notice under lawful authorities. In addition, the individual must be a resident of more than six on time of registration. Indian citizenship could be provided to the non-resident of India if parents are born Indian along with other circumstances.