Citizenship in India: Articles 5 to 11 and the 1955 Act

The correct answer is B, Part II. Citizenship is dealt with in Part II of the Constitution, which contains Articles 5 to 11. These provisions settle who became a citizen of India at the commencement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950 and, through Article 11, leave all later law on citizenship to Parliament. Option A is wrong because Part I, containing Articles 1 to 4, deals with the Union and its territory, the formation of new states and the alteration of boundaries. Option C is wrong because Part VII originally contained Article 238 on the states in Part B of the First Schedule and was repealed by the Seventh Amendment in 1956. Option D is wrong because Part IX deals with the Panchayats, inserted by the Seventy-third Amendment of 1992, while Part IXA covers the municipalities. Remember the simple order: Part I territory, Part II citizenship, Part III fundamental rights.

The correct answer is C, Article 5 to 11. Part II of the Constitution runs from Article 5 to Article 11. Article 5 states who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution, Articles 6 and 7 deal with migrants from and to Pakistan, Article 8 with persons of Indian origin living abroad, Article 9 with the loss of citizenship on voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship, Article 10 with the continuance of citizenship rights and Article 11 with the power of Parliament to regulate citizenship by law. Option A is wrong because Articles 3 and 4 belong to Part I and deal with the formation of new states and consequential changes to the First and Fourth Schedules. Option B is wrong for the same reason: Article 4 is not part of the citizenship chapter. Option D is wrong because it leaves out Article 5, which is the opening and most important provision of the chapter.

The correct answer is C, 1955. The Constitution settles only who was a citizen on 26 January 1950, and Article 11 leaves the rest to Parliament, which enacted the Citizenship Act in 1955. The Act lays down five modes of acquiring citizenship and three of losing it, and it has been amended in 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019. Option A is wrong because 1950 is the year the Constitution came into force, not the year of the Act. Option B is wrong because 1952 is the year of the first general election and of the Representation of the People Act machinery being used for it, not of the citizenship law. Option D is wrong because 1962 has no connection with citizenship law; it is remembered for the India-China war. Learn the pair together: Part II of the Constitution plus the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The correct answer is D, Article 11. Article 11 states that nothing in the preceding provisions takes away the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship. It is on the strength of this Article that the Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted and has been amended since. Option A is wrong because Article 5 only decides who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution, using the tests of domicile, birth in India, a parent born in India or five years of ordinary residence. Option B is wrong because Article 9 provides that a person who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of a foreign state is not a citizen of India. Option C is wrong because Article 10 merely continues the rights of citizenship subject to any law Parliament makes, and is therefore dependent on Article 11.

The correct answer is D, by marriage. The Act lists exactly five modes of acquiring citizenship: by birth, by descent, by registration, by naturalisation and by incorporation of territory. Marriage to an Indian citizen does not by itself confer citizenship; the foreign spouse of a citizen must apply under the registration route after being ordinarily resident in India for seven years, which is why marriage is never counted as a separate mode. Option A is wrong as an answer because birth is the first mode, governed by three different date windows beginning on 26 January 1950. Option B is wrong because descent covers a person born outside India to an Indian parent, subject to registration at an Indian consulate. Option C is wrong because registration is the route used by persons of Indian origin resident in India, by spouses of citizens and by minor children of citizens.

The correct answer is B, ceases to be a citizen of India. Article 9 lays down that a person who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state is not a citizen of India, and Section 9 of the Citizenship Act gives the same rule the name termination of citizenship. This is the constitutional basis of India's refusal of dual citizenship. Option A is wrong precisely because dual citizenship is not permitted; a person must choose. Option C is wrong because the Overseas Citizen of India card is not automatic: a person of Indian origin must apply for it, and in any case the card is a long-term visa and not citizenship, giving no right to vote or to hold a constitutional office. Option D is wrong because the loss under Article 9 operates by force of the Constitution itself and does not wait upon any law of Parliament.

The correct answer is A, the Union List. Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens form an entry in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule, so only Parliament can make law on them, which matches Article 11 and explains why there is a single central Citizenship Act and no state citizenship law. Option B is wrong because the State List contains subjects such as public order, police, local government, public health and agriculture, and a state legislature cannot grant or take away citizenship. Option C is wrong because the Concurrent List contains subjects such as criminal law, marriage and divorce, education and forests, on which both Parliament and the state legislatures may legislate. Option D is wrong because citizenship is expressly enumerated and is therefore not a residuary subject; residuary powers, which also belong to Parliament, cover only matters not listed in any of the three lists.

The correct answer is C, 2015. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2015 merged the older Person of Indian Origin card scheme into the Overseas Citizen of India scheme, so that holders of PIO cards were treated as OCI cardholders and only one category remained. Option A is wrong because the 2003 amendment introduced the concept of the illegal migrant and provided for a national register of citizens, not the merger. Option B is wrong because 2005 is the year the OCI scheme itself was introduced, giving foreign nationals of Indian origin a lifelong visa and parity with non-resident Indians in most economic matters, although not the right to vote or to hold constitutional office. Option D is wrong because the 2019 amendment deals with eligibility for citizenship of six specified communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.

The correct answer is B, 31 December 2014. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 shall not be treated as illegal migrants and are eligible for citizenship, with the qualifying period for naturalisation reduced from eleven years to five. The rules for making such applications were notified in 2024. Option A is wrong because 3 December 2004 is the date from which the stricter rule of citizenship by birth applies, requiring both parents to be citizens or one to be a citizen and the other not an illegal migrant. Option C is wrong because no such cut-off appears in the Act. Option D is wrong because the year of enactment is 2019 but the cut-off date of entry is five years earlier.

The correct answer is B, Britain. India follows the British practice of single citizenship: there is only citizenship of India and no separate citizenship of a state, so every citizen carries the same rights in every part of the country. From Britain India also took parliamentary government, the rule of law, single citizenship, the legislative procedure and the office of the Speaker. Option A is wrong because the United States has double citizenship, of the federation and of the state, along with fundamental rights, judicial review and the impeachment procedure that India did borrow. Option C is wrong because from Canada India took a federation with a strong centre, residuary powers with the Union and the appointment of state Governors. Option D is wrong because from Ireland India took the Directive Principles, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha and the method of electing the President.

The correct answer is B, 1 July 1987. The amendment of 1986 changed the rule of citizenship by birth with effect from 1 July 1987: a person born in India on or after that date is a citizen by birth only if one of the parents was an Indian citizen at the time of the birth. Option A is wrong because for births from 26 January 1950 to 30 June 1987 the place of birth alone was enough and the nationality of the parents was irrelevant. Option C is wrong because 3 December 2004 marks the next and stricter stage, under which a person born in India is a citizen only if both parents are citizens, or one is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant. Option D is wrong because 31 December 2014 is the cut-off date of entry under the amendment of 2019 and has nothing to do with citizenship by birth.