Citizenship at the Commencement of the Constitution (Articles 5-11)

Citizenship at commencement refers to the set of rules in Articles 5 to 11 of the Constitution that fixed, once and for all, who counted as a citizen of India on the day the Constitution came into force — 26 January 1950. Unlike most other provisions, which continue to operate, these articles were essentially a one-time exercise: they answered the citizenship question at a specific historical moment shaped by Partition, and then handed the ongoing job of regulating citizenship to Parliament.

Article 5: Citizens by Domicile

Article 5 provides that every person who had his domicile in the territory of India at the commencement of the Constitution became a citizen of India if he also satisfied at least one of three conditions: he was born in India, or either of his parents was born in India, or he had been ordinarily resident in India for not less than five years immediately before commencement. This was the residual, general-purpose category — it covered the bulk of the population and did not depend on migration history.

Articles 6 and 7: The Partition Migrants

Articles 6 and 7 dealt specifically with people whose citizenship was complicated by Partition.

Article 6 covered persons who had migrated to India from territory that is now part of Pakistan. Such a person was deemed a citizen of India at commencement if he, or either of his parents or grandparents, was born in India as defined under the Government of India Act, 1935, and he further satisfied one of two conditions: if he migrated before 19 July 1948, he had to have been ordinarily resident in India since his migration; if he migrated on or after that date, he had to have been registered as a citizen, which itself required six months of residence in India before applying for registration. 19 July 1948 is significant because that is when a permit system for such migration was introduced.

Article 7 addressed the reverse situation: persons who had migrated to Pakistan after 1 March 1947 but subsequently returned to India for resettlement. Such a person could become an Indian citizen only after satisfying the registration authorities, and again a minimum period of residence in India (six months) before applying was required.

Article 8: Persons of Indian Origin Abroad

Article 8 covered persons of Indian origin who were ordinarily residing outside India. A person qualified if he, or either of his parents or grandparents, was born in undivided India, and he had been registered as a citizen of India by an Indian diplomatic or consular representative in his country of residence — whether that registration happened before or after the Constitution commenced. This provision was aimed squarely at the overseas Indian community and its claim to citizenship.

Taken together, Articles 5 to 8 therefore dealt with four distinct groups: persons domiciled in India, persons who migrated from Pakistan, persons who migrated to Pakistan but returned, and persons of Indian origin residing abroad.

Articles 9, 10 and 11: Exclusion, Continuance and Parliament's Power

Article 9 lays down a bar rather than a grant: no person is a citizen of India under Article 5, or a deemed citizen under Articles 6 or 8, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State. This reflects India's single-citizenship model — there is no provision for dual citizenship under the Constitution.

Article 10 provides that every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under the preceding provisions shall continue to be such a citizen, subject to any law Parliament may make. This is an important qualification: it means Parliament's ordinary legislative power can modify even the citizenship status conferred by Articles 5 to 8.

Article 11 completes the scheme by giving Parliament full power to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship, and all other matters relating to citizenship. It was this article that Parliament used to enact the Citizenship Act, 1955, which today governs acquisition and loss of citizenship — by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory — and has itself been amended several times.

Articles 5-11 at a Glance

Single Citizenship, Single Domicile

A distinctive feature of the Indian scheme is that it recognises only one citizenship and one domicile for the whole country. This differs from federations such as the United States and Switzerland, which allow a form of dual (national and state) citizenship. In India, birth or residence in a particular State confers no separate status as a "citizen" of that State — every Indian citizen has identical civic and political rights regardless of which State they live in, and this underpins the fundamental right to reside and settle in any part of Indian territory.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Match articles to subject matter: Article 5 (domicile), 6 (from Pakistan), 7 (to Pakistan and back), 8 (Indian origin abroad), 9 (foreign citizenship bar), 10 (continuance), 11 (Parliament's power).
• Know the trigger dates: 26 January 1950 (commencement), 19 July 1948 (permit system for migration), 1 March 1947 (cut-off in Article 7).
• Article 11 is the constitutional basis of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Mains

• Part II of the Constitution (Articles 5-11) is deliberately narrow: it settled citizenship only as on 26 January 1950 and left all future regulation to ordinary parliamentary law under Article 11, unlike Fundamental Rights which bind Parliament. This design choice can be discussed in answers on the constitutional architecture of citizenship and its single-citizenship, single-domicile character.

FAQ

Q1. Which article of the Constitution deals with citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution? Article 5 lays down the general rule for citizenship at commencement, based on domicile in India combined with birth, parentage, or five years' residence.

Q2. Does the Constitution allow dual citizenship? No. Article 9 provides that a person who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State ceases to qualify as a citizen of India under Articles 5, 6 or 8.

Q3. Can Parliament change the citizenship rules laid down in Articles 5 to 8? Yes. Article 10 makes continuance of citizenship subject to any law Parliament makes, and Article 11 gives Parliament plenary power over acquisition and termination of citizenship — which is why the Citizenship Act, 1955 could modify the constitutional scheme.

Q4. What is the difference between Article 6 and Article 7? Article 6 covers persons who migrated from Pakistan to India, while Article 7 covers the reverse — persons who migrated to Pakistan after 1 March 1947 but later returned to India for resettlement.

Q5. Who is covered by Article 8? Article 8 covers persons of Indian origin, or whose parents/grandparents were born in undivided India, who are ordinarily residing outside India and have been registered as citizens by an Indian diplomatic or consular representative.

Quick Revision

• Articles 5-11 fixed citizenship only as on 26 January 1950; ongoing regulation is by Parliament under Article 11.
• Article 5: domicile + (birth in India / parent born in India / 5 years' residence).
• Article 6: migrants from Pakistan — before 19-7-1948 (residence since migration) or after (registration + 6 months' prior residence).
• Article 7: migrants to Pakistan (after 1-3-1947) who returned for resettlement.
• Article 8: persons of Indian origin abroad, registered via Indian diplomatic/consular representative.
• Article 9: voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship bars Indian citizenship — no dual citizenship.
• Article 10: citizenship continues subject to parliamentary law.
• Article 11: Parliament's plenary power over citizenship — basis of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• India follows single citizenship and single domicile, unlike the US or Switzerland.

Sources

• The Constitution of India — Articles 5 to 11, legislative.gov.in
• Citizenship Act, 1955 — legislative.gov.in

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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