Acquisition of citizenship in India

Citizenship refers to a relationship between a state and its individuals, where an individual owes commitment and is authorised to its safety and protection. The term first arose in the state of ancient Greece where it was applied to the property owners but excluded the women from this right. Responsibilities upheld with the acquisition of citizenship include payment of taxes, military services to their state, respecting the national flag and patriotism. Recognition as a citizen holds with itself distinction in political, civil and social rights that are not delivered to non-citizens. The ways of acquiring citizenship differ from country to country where each of them works under different circumstances. 

Citizenship in India

The Constitution of India confers various rights and privileges to the citizens of India with the help of Articles 5 to 11. Constitutional provisions for the acquisition of citizenship are enshrined in the Citizenship Act (1955) by the Parliament. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned articles do not haggle with the difficulties that might occur successively to its beginning. 

Constitutional provisions

The Constitution of India has bestowed distinct provisions concerning the acquisition of citizenship of India. These prerequisites deal with the citizenship of a few sections, including: 

1)Persons who got domiciled in India.

2)Individuals who migrated to Pakistan but later made a return to India.

3)Persons who migrated from the country, Pakistan. 

4)Persons having an Indian origin, but presently living outside India. 

Citizenship Act, 1955

The Act was passed by the parliament of India on December 30, 1955. Citizenship Act, 1955 deals with regulations that provide termination and acquisition of citizenship of India. However, the above act has also been amended a lot of times in 1985, 1992, then in 2003 and 2005, and lastly in 2015. 

Ways of Acquiring citizenship

Citizenship Act has laid down five ways of acquiring citizenship :

1)By Birth: 

The act specifies and gives citizenship to people who are born in India on or after the making of the Constitution, but before July 1, 1987. Furthermore, people born after July 1, 1987, should have either of their parents as a citizen of India, when they were born. The ones born after December 3, 2004, shouldn’t have parents that are illegal migrants or either of them should have citizenship. 

2)By Descent:

A person born on or after January 26, 1950, but before December 10, 1992, outside India, should be treated as a citizen if his father had citizenship at the time of his birth. A person who is born outside India after December 10, 1992, is considered a citizen of India if either his mother or father holds citizenship at the time of his birth. 

3)By Registration:

A person can be registered as a citizen of India if he is an ordinary resident of India for seven years before the application, resident of undivided India and who is married to a citizen of India. Apart from this category of people, minor children of persons having citizenship, a person of full age and capacity whose either of the parents is a citizen of India and person registered as an overseas citizen of India can also register as citizens of India. 

4)By Naturalisation: 

A certificate of naturalised citizenship cannot be granted to a person if he belongs to that country where there are preventions on the acquisition of citizenship by the Indian people. He may get citizenship if he has good character and adequate knowledge of a language that is mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

5)By Incorporation of Territory: 

You can understand this better with an example, when Pondicherry became a part of India, the population living there became citizens of India. Likewise, If any territory becomes a part of our country, all the population living there becomes a part of our country, thus upholding the acquisition of Citizenship. 

Modes of acquiring citizenship

In India, there are three modes of acquiring citizenship. The list includes domicile, migration, and registration. 

1)By Domicile: 

A Place that an individual calls his permanent home is pertained to as a domicile. By Article 5 of the Indian Constitution, a person who has a permanent residence in India at the time of the beginning of the Constitution is said to be a citizen of India. 

2)By Migration: 

An enormous population of people migrated from Pakistan to India, at the time of independence. The Constitution of India has made provisions for this category but under certain circumstances and conditions. Those should be fulfilled, before being fully able to attain the citizenship of India. 

3)By Registration: 

The third and last in the modes of acquiring citizenship is by the method of registration. This is mentioned in Article 8 of the Indian Constitution, where a person can become a citizen after registering himself/herself with a diplomatic representative of India in the country of his residence. It is possible, only if the person is born in India or his parents/grandparents have their birthplace in India. 

Conclusion 

Even if these are acquired under legal terms, the acquisition of citizenship is not the end. It can also be discontinued by the Government of India under three ways specified with the Citizenship Act (1955). The ways comprise renunciation, termination, and deprivation. None is given an unlimited extent on his/her rights. This is done to prevent misuse of the powers and the responsibilities that are bestowed. Interestingly, the Indian Constitution provides for only single citizenship, there is no differentiation in the centre and state citizenship. In the case of India, there are consistent rights and obligations conferred to the citizens of India all over the country.