Chapter Info (Click Here)
Book No. – 006 (Indian Polity)
Book Name – Introduction to the Indian Constitution (D.D. Basu)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Citizenship in India
2. Rights of Citizens vs Aliens
3. Constitutional Provisions for Citizenship
4. Citizenship at the Commencement of the Constitution (Articles 5-8)
5. Modes of Acquisition of Citizenship under Citizenship Act, 1955
6. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and Amendments
7. Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015
8. Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019
9. Schemes for Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and OCI Cardholders
10. Loss of Indian Citizenship
11. Single Citizenship in India
12. Domicile and Its Implications
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Citizenship in Indian Constitution
Chapter – 7
Citizenship in India
The population of a State is divided into two classes: citizens and aliens.
Citizens enjoy full civil and political rights and are members of the political community of the State.
Aliens do not enjoy all these rights and are placed under certain disabilities.
The question of citizenship gained particular importance during the framing of the Constitution, as certain rights and privileges were to be conferred only upon citizens of India, while aliens were to be denied them.
Rights of Citizens vs Aliens
Citizens of India enjoy several rights under the Constitution that aliens do not possess:
Fundamental Rights restricted to citizens:
Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth
Article 16: Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
Article 19: Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession
Eligibility for certain offices:
President of India [Article 58(1)(a)]
Vice-President [Article 66(3)(a)]
Judge of the Supreme Court [Article 124(3)]
Judge of a High Court [Article 217(2)]
Attorney-General [Article 76(1)]
Governor of a State [Article 157]
Advocate-General [Article 165]
Political rights:
Right to vote in elections to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies [Article 326]
Right to be elected as a member of Parliament [Article 84] or State Legislature [Article 191(d)]
Special Disability of Enemy Aliens:
Enemy aliens are denied procedural protections under Article 22(1)–(2) regarding arrest and detention.
This category includes:
Subjects of a State at war with India
Indian citizens residing or trading voluntarily in such States