Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution
Also called: Articles 5-8 · Topic: Citizenship: Idea and Indian Law · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
These are the rules in Part II of the Constitution that decided who was a citizen on 26 January 1950. Article 5 made citizens of people domiciled (permanently settled) in India who were born in India, or had a parent born in India, or had ordinarily lived in India for 5 years. Article 6 covered migrants from Pakistan. Article 7 left out people who had migrated to Pakistan after 1 March 1947, unless they came back with a resettlement permit. Article 8 covered persons of Indian origin living abroad, who could register with Indian missions. Articles 5-9 came into force early, on 26 November 1949 (Article 394).
Example
A person who came from Pakistan before 19 July 1948 became a citizen just by living in India (Article 6). Someone who came later had to register after 6 months' residence.
Don't confuse with
- Citizenship Act 1955: Articles 5-8 dealt only with the position on 26 January 1950. Every later case of gaining or losing citizenship is governed by the 1955 Act, which Parliament made under Article 11.