Report on citizenship law : India

The text of the Constitution of India, 1950 recognizes the importance of issues of citizenship by according a privileged space to them in the founding document. Part II of the Constitution of India is titled ‘Citizenship’ and its six provisions precede the important provisions relating to Fundamental Rights that are housed in the next part. During the drafting process, which lasted from 1946-49, a considerable amount of discussion and energy were devoted to the concept of citizenship that would be enshrined within the constitutional text. The final text of the provisions relating to citizenship was decided after several rounds of revisions to drafts prepared by successive preparatory committees over a period extending to two years. Nevertheless, rights to citizenship in India are not ‘Fundamental Rights’, even as they remain constitutionally bestowed and recognized. This, as we shall see, has affected how much importance has been accorded to them relative to the fundamental rights including those relating to speech, assembly, personal liberty, etc