Indian Constitution Features Quiz

Citizenship

• Article 9: Voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign state does not make one a citizen of India.
• Article 10: Every person is subjected to the law created by the parliament.
• Article 11: Parliament has the power to regulate the right of citizenship by law.

Citizenship Act, 1955 and Amendments

• The Citizenship Act, 1955, regulates the right of citizenship.
• The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, made illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for citizenship.
• The 2019 amendment reduced the period of naturalization for these groups from six years to five years.

Fundamental Rights

• Part III of the Constitution of India (Articles 12-35) enshrines the fundamental rights.
• The concept of human rights aims to protect individuals from oppression and injustice.
• The right to liberty is essential to a free society.
• The concept of fundamental rights was inspired by the US Bill of Rights.
• Part III is considered the Magna Carta of India.

History of Fundamental Rights

• The US was the first modern constitution to give concrete shape to the concept of human rights through the Bill of Rights.
• The UK does not have a formal declaration of people's fundamental rights, but the concept of Rule of Law prevails.

Incorporation of Fundamental Rights

• The framers of the Indian Constitution derived their inspiration from the US Bill of Rights.
• The reason for incorporating fundamental rights in the Constitution was to safeguard individual liberties.

Migrants from Pakistan

• Article 6: A person who migrated to India from Pakistan became an Indian citizen if they or their parents or grandparents were born in undivided India.
• The person must have fulfilled one of the two conditions: ordinary resident in India before July 19, 1948, or resident for at least six months preceding the date of application for registration.

Person who Migrated to Pakistan

• Article 7: A person who migrated to Pakistan from India after March 1, 1947, shall not be deemed a citizen of India.
• Exception: If they later returned to India for resettlement, they could become an Indian citizen.

Rights of Citizenship of Certain Persons of Indian Origin Residing Outside India

• Article 8: Any person who or either of whose parents or grandparents were born in India, as stated in the Government of India Act, 1955, and who is residing ordinarily in any country outside India, shall be considered a citizen of India.
• They must have registered as a citizen of India by an Indian diplomatic or consular representative in that country.

Single Citizenship

• India has a single citizenship, whereas the USA allows dual citizenship.
• Citizens of India, regardless of their state of birth, enjoy the same political and civil rights.

Fundamental Duties

• Part IV A of the Constitution, inserted by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.
• Fundamental duties serve as a reminder to citizens that rights include duties as well.

Three-Tier System

• The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts introduced the Panchayat Raj system.
• The three-tier system consists of:
  • Gram Panchayat at the village level.
  • Panchayat Samiti at the block level.
  • Zila Parishad at the district level.

Citizenship (Article 5 to 11)

• Articles 5 to 9 determine who are Indians at the commencement of the Constitution.
• Article 10 provides for the continuance of such citizenship.
• Article 11 gives the parliament the power to make laws regarding citizenship.

Miscellaneous

• Citizenship is a person's legal status in a country, whereas nationality is the place of birth.
• Domicile requires an intention to reside forever in a country.
• Article 5 defines who is a citizen of India at the commencement of the Constitution, including those who were born in India, had parents or grandparents born in India, or had been ordinarily resident in India for at least five years preceding the commencement of the Constitution.