Part II of the Constitution

Also called: Articles 5-11 · Topic: Citizenship: Idea and Indian Law · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Citizenship"

Meaning

Part II of the Constitution (Articles 5-11) is the short chapter that settled who was a citizen of India when the Constitution started on 26 January 1950. It also says how that status could be lost by taking a foreign citizenship, and it leaves all later rules on citizenship to Parliament (Art. 11).

• It matters because it settled the status of millions of people who crossed the new border during Partition.
• It is also the base on which the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 were built.

Explanation

What Part II does and does not do

• It does one job. It decides who was a citizen on 26 January 1950.
• It does not give a full, permanent system for getting or losing citizenship. Art. 11 hands that job to Parliament.
• Some articles started early. Arts. 5-9 came into force on 26 November 1949 under Art. 394. Most of the Constitution started only on 26 January 1950.
• Partition had sent huge numbers of people across the border.

• Their status had to be settled at once, before the rest of the Constitution began.

• Citizenship is a Union subject. It is in Seventh Schedule, List I (Union List), entry 17: "citizenship, naturalisation and aliens". Only Parliament can make laws on it.

• Naturalisation means a foreigner becomes a citizen after living in India for a set time.
• Aliens are people who are not citizens.

The articles one by one

Article	Who / what	Rule
5	People domiciled (living permanently) in India	Citizen if domiciled in India and (a) born in India, or (b) either parent born in India, or (c) ordinarily resident (normally living) in India for at least 5 years just before 26 January 1950 [2]
6	Migrants from Pakistan to India	The person, a parent or any grandparent must have been born in "India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935". The person must also meet one of the two routes below [3]
7	Migrants to Pakistan	Anyone who moved to Pakistan after 1 March 1947 is not a citizen. Exception: those who came back with a permit for resettlement or permanent return issued under a law [4]
8	Persons of Indian origin living abroad	Can become citizens by registering at India's diplomatic or consular office (Indian mission) in the country where they live
9	Taking a foreign citizenship	Voluntarily taking another country's citizenship means the person is no longer an Indian citizen
10	Continuance	Citizens under Part II stay citizens, subject to any law Parliament makes
11	Parliament's power	Nothing in Part II limits Parliament's power to make laws on acquiring and ending citizenship and all other matters about citizenship [4]

Article 6: the two routes for migrants from Pakistan

• Route 1: came before 19 July 1948

• Citizen if ordinarily resident in India since the day they arrived [3].

• Route 2: came on or after 19 July 1948

• The person had to be registered by an officer of the Dominion of India.
• The application had to be made before 26 January 1950.

• No one could be registered without living in India for at least 6 months just before applying [3].

• Adoption: the Constituent Assembly debated Art. 6 on 10-12 August 1949 and adopted it on 12 August 1949 [3].

Article 11: Parliament's power

• Plenary power means full and complete power to make laws on a subject. Art. 11 gives Parliament this power over citizenship.
• Result: the long-term rules on citizenship come from ordinary laws, not from the Constitution.
• These laws can be changed by a simple majority.
• A constitutional amendment is not needed.

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Part II, Arts. 5-11. It is backed by List I, entry 17 (Union subject) and Art. 394 (early start of Arts. 5-9).
• Citizenship Act, 1955 (Act No. 57 of 1955): Parliament passed this law using its power under Art. 11 [5].
• Ways to get citizenship: birth, descent, registration, naturalisation, inclusion of territory [5].

• Ways to lose citizenship: renunciation (giving it up), termination, deprivation (taken away by the government) [5].

• Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act No. 47 of 2019), passed on 12 December 2019 [8]:

• Who is covered: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. They are no longer treated as illegal migrants (people who came in without valid papers or stayed too long) [6].
• Shorter wait: for this group, the residence needed for naturalisation falls from 11 years to 5 years [6].
• Areas left out: Sixth Schedule tribal areas (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura) and Inner Line Permit areas (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland). An Inner Line Permit is a pass outsiders need to enter these areas [6].
• OCI: the government can cancel an Overseas Citizen of India registration if the cardholder breaks a law notified by the central government. The cardholder must first get a hearing [6].

• Passage: introduced in and passed by the Lok Sabha on 9 December 2019, and passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019 [6].

• Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on 11 March 2024 [7]. The steps, in order: 1. Application: the applicant gives proof of nationality from Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh, proof of entry on or before 31 December 2014, and a certificate on religion from a local community institution [7]. 2. District-level Committee: headed by the Senior Superintendent or Superintendent of Post. It checks the documents and gives the oath of allegiance (a promise of loyalty to India) [7]. 3. Empowered Committee: headed by the Director of Census Operations of the state or UT. It verifies the case and grants citizenship [7].

• Under the old rules, applications went through Collectors and state governments [7].

Don't confuse with

• Citizenship Act, 1955: Part II covers only who was a citizen at the start (1950). The 1955 Act gives the permanent ways to get and lose citizenship [5].
• Art. 6 vs Art. 7: Art. 6 deals with people who came from Pakistan to India (key date 19 July 1948). Art. 7 deals with people who went to Pakistan (key date 1 March 1947).
• Art. 8 vs Art. 5: Art. 5 covers people living permanently in India. Art. 8 covers persons of Indian origin living abroad, who become citizens by registering at an Indian mission.
• Single citizenship vs dual citizenship: India has only one citizenship, an idea taken from Britain. The USA has citizenship of the country and of the state too. Part II creates no state citizenship.

Prelims Hooks

• Arts. 5-9 came into force on 26 November 1949 under Art. 394, not on 26 January 1950.
• Art. 6 cut-off date is 19 July 1948. Migrants from Pakistan who came before it became citizens through residence. Those who came on or after it had to register after 6 months' residence [3].
• Art. 7 cut-off date is 1 March 1947. People who moved to Pakistan after it are not citizens, unless they came back with a resettlement permit [4].
• Art. 11 gives Parliament full power over citizenship. List I entry 17 makes it a Union subject, so a state legislature cannot make laws on it.
• Art. 9: voluntarily taking a foreign citizenship ends Indian citizenship.
• CAA Rules 2024: the Empowered Committee headed by the Director of Census Operations grants citizenship. The District-level Committee does not grant it [7].

Mains Points

• Part II as a Partition document:
• Arts. 5-8 used cut-off dates (1 March 1947, 19 July 1948) and residence and registration tests to deal with mass migration.

• Starting Arts. 5-9 early (Art. 394) shows how urgent the problem was.

• Flexibility vs protection (Art. 11):

• Leaving the long-term rules to Parliament kept the system flexible. It made the Citizenship Act, 1955 and later changes possible [5].

• The downside is that the core of citizenship can change by ordinary law, without the special majority a constitutional amendment needs.

• CAA 2019 as a test of Art. 11:

• For: it is defended as help for persecuted minorities from three neighbouring countries [6].
• Against: it is criticised for using religion to sort people, which raises questions under Art. 14 (equality before the law), and for giving the executive more power over OCI cards [6].
• Both views are measured against NCERT's idea of Indian citizenship as "essentially democratic and inclusive". The north-eastern exemptions show the pull between protecting tribal identity and having the same rules across the country [6].

Related concepts

• Single citizenship
• Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution
• Rights reserved for citizens
• Enemy alien

Read more

• Citizenship in the Constitution: Part II, single citizenship and citizens' rights