Maha Bharat: Episode 18

Who is a Citizen?

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“India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters” — we have all at some point heard or even recited this pledge as Indians. But what we are trying to ask in this episode is, “Who is an Indian Citizen?”.

How does one become a citizen and what does being a citizen of India mean? The answers to these questions might not be as simple as you imagine!

Show Notes

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Links to clips used in this episode —

Full Transcript of Episode 18

[We hear the a student recite the National Pledge]

भारत हमारा देश है।

हम सब भारतवासी भाई बहन हैं।

हमें अपना देश प्राणों से भी  प्यारा है।

इसकी समृद्धि  और विविध संस्कृति पर हमें गर्व है।

हम इसके सुयोग्य अधिकारी बनने का प्रयत्न सदा करते रहेंगे।

हम अपने माता-पिता शिक्षकों, और गुरुजनों का आदर करेंगे और सबके साथ शिष्टता का व्यवहार करेंगे।

हम अपने देश  और देशवासियों  के प्रति वफादार रहने की प्रतिज्ञा करते हैं।

उनके कल्याण और समृद्धि में ही हमारा सुख निहित है।

Doston, I’m sure some of you still remember the pledge we used to recite in school! And for those who don’t know what this is, this is India’s National Pledge. 

At many public occasions, especially in our schools, as citizens of India, we would express our pride and loyalty for our country. But have you ever asked yourself – what makes you a citizen of India? 

Once you are a citizen, can you stop being one?  If you have migrated from another country, how do you become  a citizen of India?

Also, what is the ongoing debate (vad-vivad) about citizenship in India about?

I hope that at the end of this episode, you will have a clear answer to the question — Who is a citizen? 

Chaliye, let’s start with the basic definition of a citizen. 

A citizen is a person recognized by the law as a member of a country or belonging to a country. Each country has its own set of conditions that determine who can be a citizen of the country. Similarly, a certain set of conditions determine whose citizenship can be withdrawn. As a citizen, you are granted civil, political and social rights that a non-citizen is not. Some of these rights, generally, include the right to a passport, to work in a country, to leave a country and return to it.

But, let’s think about this a little bit more. When I say Nagrik, what comes to your mind? The idea of citizenship is often closely linked to identity. We believe that we are citizens of India because we belong here, right? There may be many reasons for this – maybe you were born here, grew up here or maybe your parents and ancestors are from India. In the end, being a citizen may mean that we feel a certain connection to the country. It is our identity.

Well, you’re right — one part citizenship does come from “belonging”. Why am I saying “One part”? 

Because, broadly, there are three factors that determine your citizenship. I will use some jargon here – but it’s fairly simple. 

Pehla hai Jus Soli. This is a Latin phrase which means, ‘of land’. Also called citizenship by birthright, Jus Soli gives you citizenship in a country because you are born there.

This type of citizenship is given in the US, Canada and most of South America. Some other countries in Africa and Asia have Jus Soli with some restrictions.

India used to have this, but it was abolished in 2004. 

Then comes Jus Sanguinis, which means ‘of blood’. This factor grants you citizenship of a country if either one of your parents have been born in that country.

Teesra hai naturalization. This is the process of getting citizenship of a country by residing there for a specific period of time. 

I’m talking broadly of course, but the rules change from country to country. 

So, what about India? As a citizen of India, what are the rights you have?

There are a set of rights for citizens in India, and a set of rights for everyone – citizen or not. 

Did you know, even a foreigner in India can be jailed for a crime? Or, file a case in India? The right to justice is for citizens as well as non-citizens.

Let’s come to citizens. As a citizen you enjoy all the fundamental rights listed in the constitution. This includes the Right to Life, Right to Education, Right to Equality, Right to the Freedom of Religion. You also enjoy certain civil rights – like the right to cultural freedom and the right to form associations. 

You also have a right to be protected against discrimination on any grounds – but a non-citizen does not. Similarly, as a citizen, you will get equal opportunity when it comes to public employment. A non-citizen will not. 

Yeh toh ho gaye constitutional rights. But citizenship has an important role to play in a democracy. Kaise?

As a citizen, you not only vote for your leaders, but you also have the opportunity to stand for elections yourself. You must have heard this, right: A democracy is of the people, for the people and by the people. 

And don’t forget — as a citizen, you have a right to dissent (awaaz uthana) against the government in a democracy, too.

Have you ever wondered: what if a baby was born on a ship travelling from one country to another? Or in an airplane flying between countries? Which country would that baby be a citizen of?

Or – what if your country just stops existing, like for Tom Hanks’ character in the movie Terminal?

[We hear the dialogues of a scene from the movie Terminal.]

In that movie, his character Victor Navorski can’t go back to his country, nor can he enter the United States. He is a “citizen of nowhere”, with no rights. 

Actually, the writers of our constitution had these questions, too. As you can imagine, citizenship was a very important topic of discussion after India became independent.  Let’s go back in time a little and understand why. 

Today, if you live in India, you might be called an Indian citizen. But if you lived in India during the British Raj, you would be called a “British Subject”. Haan – dekha jaye toh, Indians weren’t citizens until independence. In the 19th and 20th century, Indian leaders like Dwarkanath Tagore (द्वारकानाथ टगोर), Govindachandra Dutta (गोविंदाचार्य दत्ता) said that Indians should have some sort of protection by the government. Aur toh aur, they demanded representation in the British government. These two ideas meant citizenship for Indians. 

In the  early 20th Century, before independence, some form of citizenship was granted to Indians. Half the seats in the Provincial Legislative Councils were reserved for Indians. However, this included only a small section (chhota hissa) of the population. Land owners, intellectuals (vidhvan), the rich and the powerful. The right to vote for these seats was also given only to a handful (gine chune) of Indians. 

In 1928, the Motilal Nehru report was drafted. This was the first time that Indian citizenship was discussed formally. The Nehru report said that any one who was born or naturalized into India – or any one whose parents were born or naturalized in India, should be an Indian citizen. It also listed the Fundamental rights for Indian citizens – all Indian citizens. Not only the elite or the rich. 

This report became the basis for deciding citizenship in India after independence. 

But the matter of citizenship wasn’t not going to be so simple.

In 1947, independent India was divided into two countries: India and Pakistan. As you know — this led to migration across the borders of India and Pakistan. There was a huge loss of life, property and identity. 

We had to decide who was a citizen of India, now? Is a migrant from Pakistan an Indian citizen? Does religion play a role?

These are some of the questions that the members of the constituent assembly discussed.

Hua yeh tha, ki the constituent assembly had originally decided 4 factors that determined if a person was an Indian citizen once the constitution came into existence. Now, remember – these factors were decided keeping in mind partition and the migration of Indians. 

Sabse pehle, Citizenship by domicile (डोमिसैल) — yaani, Article 5 of the constitution. Any person who was born in India, or if either of their parents were born in India would be a citizen. Also, if any person had been staying in India for at least 5 years before 1950, they would also become an Indian citizen. 

Now, you can imagine the kind of debate this article caused in the constituent assembly. Dr. Ambedkar had suggested these provisions. Would you believe — Dr. P.S Deshmukh, in the assembly said that these provisions make India the cheapest on earth! He said that being born in India is not enough to determine citizenship. Remember our example in the beginning? Dr. Deshmukh gave a similar one. What if a couple travelling by aeroplane stops at Bombay for a few hours, and the woman delivers a child? Should the child be an Indian citizen?

However, this argument was not accepted. 

The next article was an important one. It concerned the citizenship of those who had migrated from Pakistan to india. This article provided that any citizen who had migrated to India from Pakistan before 1984 would be given citizenship if they have  been residing in India. And if they have migrated to India after July 1948, they must apply for registration of citizenship after staying in India for six months. 

Now, there were objections to this too!

Members of the constituent assembly insisted that the intent (irada) of the migrant should be made clear. They should be able to provide proof – why are they coming to India? Do they have any relatives here?

Such amendments were also rejected. 

The third article was simple. Any person who had migrated to Pakistan before 1947, and wishes to come back to India after partition, may do so and register for citizenship after six months. This article was accepted without any amendments. 

Lastly, any person residing outside of India, whose parents or grandparents are Indian citizens, can register themselves as Indian citizens at the Indian consulate in their current country. This article too, was accepted. 

India was a new country – with citizenship and rights for every Indian.

[We hear a part of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech on the Republic of India]

The interesting factis that this is all the constitution has to say about citizenship. The debate that we often have – about who should be a citizen of India – should illegal migrants be granted citizenship? How many years should you have to stay in India to be an Indian citizen? The constitution doesn’t provide any answers for any of these questions. 

But it does empower the Indian parliament to make laws on citizenship. And that’s how the Citizenship Act of India came into existence in 1951. 

For a free India, citizenship was extremely important. It was a means for people to have equal rights, justice and freedom.

[We hear the voice of Jawaharlal Nehru reciting a part of the Preamble of India’s constitution]

That was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, speaking about independent India, where every citizen is awarded equal rights. And who determines who these citizens are?

The Citizenship Act.

Citizenship Act — hal hee mein, we have talked about this act, debated (charcha) it, yaha tak ki, protested and fought over it. But what is this act? 

In 1955, the Indian Parliament passed the Citizenship Act. This is an act that determines who can be considered an Indian citizen. Over the years, there have been many amendments to it. Let’s see what the act says, today. 

First of all, simply being born in India doesn’t grant you citizenship anymore. According to the act, if you were born in India after 1987, at least one of your parents should be an Indian citizen at the time of your birth. And if you’re born after 2004, then both your parents will have to meet this criteria. 

What if you’re born outside of India? The act says that if either of your parents were citizens when you were born, you can register as an Indian citizen.

But, Not everyone chooses to do so. Why?

This is because India does not allow dual citizenship. You can’t be a citizen of another country and also a citizen of India.

For citizens of Indian origin who live in another country, India provides something called the Overseas Citizenship of India. This allows you to have citizenship of another country, but you can come back to India to live and work. However, you can’t vote in India!

Let’s look at the other side of the coin: what about an Indian citizen in another country? Here, he or she may only be a permanent resident and not a citizen. The difference? As a resident, you can live and work in a country, but you don’t have a passport from that country. Also, you can’t leave the country longer than a specific amount of time. Interestingly, residents who are not citizens of a country are called “legal aliens”.

Coming back to registering as an Indian citizen – even if you are born outside of India, if your parents are of Indian origin, you can register as a citizen. You can also register to be a citizen if you get married to an Indian citizen, but only after living in India for 7 years. 

If you’re not of Indian origin, then you can register to be a citizen of India by naturalization if you have resided in India for about 12 years before registering. 

There’s another way that you can be a citizen of India and maybe you haven’t thought about this one: when India acquires new territory (pradesh). In 1962, India acquired Daman, Diu and Goa from the Portuguese. So, according to the law, all the residents, who were previously Portuguese citizens, became Indian citizens.

So, that was the Citizenship Act of 1955. Why is there a debate about it now? 

The debate and opposition has started around the dialogue of illegal migrants in India. In 2004, the amendment to the Citizenship Act introduced very clear provisions — that illegal migrants in India will not be granted citizenship under any circumstances. 

In fact, a child with whose parent is an illegal migrant cannot be granted citizenship either. 

Before going ahead, let’s understand who an illegal migrant is. The Citizenship Act describes an illegal migrant as anyone who has entered India without valid documents (kaagzaat). Or, any migrant who has stayed in India beyond the duration permitted to them. 

Usually, these migrants include people who have come to India from bordering countries, like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, etc. Often, these migrants have escaped violence in their country. They are refugees, seeking shelter in India. 

In 2016, a new amendment to this provision was proposed in the Lok Sabha. It suggested that refugees from three neighboring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh should be granted citizenship of India if they have stayed in India for at least 6 years. 

However, this was only if these refugees were from the Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Jain or Buddhist religions. This is because these are persecuted minorities in other countries – yaani, aise kaum jinpe atyachaar kiya gaya ho. However, Muslim refugees weren’t included in this list.

In December 2019: 

[We hear news clips about the passing of the CAA in the Parliament]

As soon as the CAB was passed, it caused an uproar across the country. 

[We hear news about protests and violence breaking out in different parts of the country]

The question is, why? Why the opposition – and why the debate? The uproar from the citizens had two reasons. 

One, combined with the National Register of Citizens or NRC, the CAA poses a threat to existing citizens of India. 

But, what is the NRC?

Simply put, the NRC is an official record of those who are legal Indian citizens. It includes information about all those individuals who qualify as citizens of India as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. 

So far, the government has implemented the NRC only in Assam. It was found that 19 lakh residents of Assam were left out of the NRC. Here, birth certificates were used as the most common proof of citizenship. As for the rest of the country, we still don’t know the documents we will need. 

So, what’s the concern? 

Many citizens who are protesting against the CAA argue that in case citizens are not able to prove citizenship, this will affect Muslim citizens more severely than their Hindu couterparts. Any Hindu citizen who cannot prove his citizenship by the means of valid documents may be able seek citizenship via the Citizenship Amendment Act. However, a Muslim citizen cannot, considering the act doesn’t allow Muslim immigrants. 

The second reason for opposition is the fact that this act explicitly (spasht) leaves out muslim refugees. When the writers of our constitution were having the Blood Vs. Soil debate, they ruled out religion as a factor (tattva) for citizenship. However, this act brings it back. 

Doston, the protests – virodh pradarshan – against CAA were seen all over India.

But there have also been strong protests from Assam. But there was a different reason for this.  

[We hear Journalist Anubhav Chakraborty speaking about CAA in Assam]

Assam has a long and fairly complicated history with illegal migrants and refugees. Since partition, many migrants have crossed over from Bangladesh into Assam. Many of these are refugees of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and other religions, who were being persecuted in their country. 

Since 1950, the government has tried to document and remove these migrants. The NRC conducted in Assam found that over 19 lakh people are not citizens. They have set up foreigner’s tribunals — a group of people who decide whether a person is a citizen or not. The Assam government has created six detention camps for illegal migrants in the state. It is set to build more. 

The Citizenship Amendment Act only adds to the tension in Assam. The citizens are worried that more refugees will enter Assam, and be granted Indian citizenship easily. They are scared that the smaller, indigenous communities of Assam will vanish. In Assam, citizenship is a question of identity. 

Citizenship affects your life. 

Today, citizenship allows us to live and work freely in a place we belong to. It gives us an identity. Which is why the consequences of citizenship being taken away from someone can be very serious. 

I will leave you to decide whether the amendments to the citizenship act are right or wrong. But I do hope that we’ve realized the role citizenship plays in each of our lives. 

I will be back next week with a new episode of Maha Bharat!

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Credits

Narrated by – Dhruv Rathee
Producer – Gaurav Vaz
Written by – Anushka Mukherjee and Gaurav Vaz

Title Track Design – Abhijith Nath
Audio Prouduction – Madhav Ayachit