Indian Polity · Topic 4 of 25
India's territory, states/UTs, and rules governing citizenship
The Basics
India is described in Article 1 as a 'Union of States', not a 'Federation of States'. This is both the country's name and a statement about the type of polity it has. The Constituent Assembly could not agree on a single name. So it adopted the formula 'India, that is Bharat', combining the modern and traditional names.
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India's political map has never been fixed. It is a story of constant redrawing, from the chaos of 1947 to the latest reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Understanding this story is simply tracing how a patchwork of British provinces and princely states was first stitched together, then repeatedly cut and resewn along linguistic, cultural and administrative lines.
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The India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement finally settled the land border between India and Bangladesh. It was given effect through two constitutional amendments: the 9th Amendment of 1960 and the 100th Amendment of 2015.
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Every modern state has two kinds of people living under it: citizens and aliens. Citizens are full members of the Indian state and owe allegiance to it. They enjoy the widest set of rights. Aliens are subjects of some other state. They live in India but do not get the same bundle of rights as citizens.
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India has a federal Constitution with two levels of government, the Union and the states, yet it recognises only one citizenship for the whole country, Indian citizenship. There is no separate state citizenship. A person born or living in any state is simply a citizen of India, not additionally a citizen of that state.
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Jammu and Kashmir is a region in the north of India made up of three areas: Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Each area has a different mix of religions and cultures. Before 1947, it was a princely state ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh. He wanted neither to join India nor Pakistan, but to remain independent. Ordinary Kashmiris saw themselves first as Kashmiris, above religion or nationality. This shared regional identity is called Kashmiriyat. The popular movement against the Maharaja was led by Sheikh Abdullah of the National Conference. The National Conference was a secular party close to the Congress. It opposed both the Maharaja's rule and merger with Pakistan.
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Articles 5 to 11 are in Part II of the Constitution. They identify who became a citizen of India when the Constitution commenced, 26 January 1950. They are not a permanent or complete citizenship law. They do not cover how citizenship is gained or lost afterwards. Parliament handles that task. It used this power to pass the Citizenship Act of 1955. This Act has been amended several times since.
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The Citizenship Act, 1955 is the law that governs citizenship in India after the Constitution commenced, covering both how a person can acquire citizenship and how a person can lose it.
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The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 creates a special path to Indian citizenship. It is for members of six religious minorities who fled Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan.
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The Citizenship Act 1955 lists three ways to lose citizenship. These apply to all citizens, whether by birth or acquisition. The three ways are renunciation, termination and deprivation. Renunciation is voluntary. Termination happens automatically. Deprivation is forced by government action.
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