CDS (II) 2020 General Knowledge · Question 80 of 120

Correct — B, Part II. Citizenship is dealt with in Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11. Articles 5 to 10 settled who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950, including the special provisions for those who migrated to and from Pakistan. Article 11 then gives Parliament the power to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to it. The Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted under that power, and every amendment to it — including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act — is legislation traceable to Article 11, which sits in Part II. So the Part in which the subject is located is Part II.

• (a)Part I — Part I covers the Union and its territory, Articles 1 to 4 — the name and territory of India, admission and establishment of new States, and the formation of new States and alteration of boundaries.
• (c)Part IV — Part IV holds the Directive Principles of State Policy, Articles 36 to 51. It is non-justiciable guidance to the State and has nothing to do with citizenship.
• (d)Part VI — Part VI deals with the States — the Governor, the State executive, the legislature and the High Courts.

The Constitution did not lay down a permanent law of citizenship. It fixed the position on one date and then handed the subject to Parliament. Articles 5 to 8 cover citizenship by domicile, by migration from Pakistan, by migration to Pakistan and return, and for persons of Indian origin resident abroad; Article 9 denies Indian citizenship to anyone who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of a foreign state; Article 10 continues the rights of citizens subject to any law made by Parliament; and Article 11 confers the legislative power. The Citizenship Act, 1955 then provides for citizenship by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory, all reckoned from 26 January 1950.

The direct route to the answer is the order of the Parts, which is worth memorising for its own sake: Part I the Union and its territory, Part II citizenship, Part III Fundamental Rights, Part IV Directive Principles, Part IVA Fundamental Duties. Citizenship comes second because the Constitution must say who the people are before it can say what rights they hold. A second route works too, if the ordering slips. Any statute on citizenship must rest on some enabling article, and the only enabling article for this subject is Article 11 — which places the answer wherever Article 11 sits, and that is Part II.

• Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11, deals with citizenship.
• Articles 5 to 10 determined who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution on 26 January 1950; Article 11 empowers Parliament to legislate on citizenship.
• The Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted under Article 11 and determines citizenship on or after 26 January 1950.
• Article 9 bars a person who voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship from being an Indian citizen; India allows single citizenship and a single domicile.
• Part order to remember: I Union and its territory, II Citizenship, III Fundamental Rights, IV Directive Principles, IVA Fundamental Duties.

• Putting citizenship in Part III because it feels like a rights subject. Part III is Fundamental Rights; citizenship is Part II.
• Assuming the Constitution lays down a complete citizenship law. It fixes the position on one date and leaves the rest to Parliament.
• Forgetting Article 11, which is the enabling provision for every citizenship statute.

As a subject-to-Part or subject-to-Article match, or as a statements item on how citizenship is acquired and lost.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Citizenship is dealt with in which Articles of the Constitution of India?

  • (a)Articles 1 to 4
  • (b)Articles 5 to 11
  • (c)Articles 12 to 35
  • (d)Articles 36 to 51

  Answer(b) Articles 5 to 11 — Part II; Articles 1 to 4 are the Union and its territory, 12 to 35 Fundamental Rights and 36 to 51 the Directive Principles.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which Article of the Constitution of India empowers Parliament to make law with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship?

  • (a)Article 5
  • (b)Article 9
  • (c)Article 11
  • (d)Article 19

  Answer(c) Article 11 — the enabling provision under which the Citizenship Act, 1955 and its amendments were enacted.