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Quick recap: Salient features and citizenship on one page

Salient features and citizenship · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

Both parts condensed for quick revision: the Constitution's adoption, length, sources and main features, the added Schedules, Articles 5 to 11, the ways of gaining and losing citizenship, OCI, the 2019 amendment and Section 6A, with a one-table overview and eight mixed questions.

This chapter answers two basic questions: what kind of document the Constitution is, and who is a citizen. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came fully into force on 26 January 1950, though provisions such as those on citizenship and elections took effect on adoption (Article 394). It is the longest written national constitution: a Preamble, 395 Articles, 22 Parts and 8 Schedules at the start; 25 Parts and 12 Schedules now. Its largest single source is the Government of India Act, 1935, while working parts came from other democracies: parliamentary government from Britain, Fundamental Rights from the United States, Directive Principles from Ireland, a strong Centre from Canada and the Concurrent List from Australia.

The design blends rigidity and flexibility. Some provisions change by a simple majority outside Article 368 (new States, Legislative Councils), most need a special majority, and provisions on the federal balance also need ratification by half the States; the basic structure cannot be destroyed (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973). Article 1 calls India a 'Union of States': there is a federal division of powers, but a strong Centre, single citizenship, an integrated judiciary and emergency powers, so the system is called quasi-federal, while S.R. Bommai (1994) made federalism part of the basic structure. Government is parliamentary, with the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Article 75(3)), yet Parliament is limited by judicial review.

Rights come in three layers: justiciable Fundamental Rights (Part III), non-justiciable Directive Principles (Part IV) and Fundamental Duties (Part IVA, added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976). India is a secular State, and voting rests on universal adult franchise (Article 326), with the age lowered from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment (1988). Independent constitutional bodies, emergency provisions (Articles 352, 356 and 360), panchayats and municipalities (73rd and 74th Amendments, 1992) and co-operative societies (97th Amendment, 2011) complete the design. Four Schedules were added after 1950: the Ninth (1st Amendment, 1951), the Tenth (52nd, 1985), the Eleventh (73rd, 1992) and the Twelfth (74th, 1992).

Citizenship begins with Part II. India has single citizenship, and several rights are for citizens only: Articles 15, 16, 19, 29 and 30, the vote, membership of legislatures and high offices. Articles 5 to 8 fixed who was a citizen in 1950: people domiciled in India with a link of birth, parentage or five years' residence; migrants from Pakistan (automatically if they came before 19 July 1948, otherwise by registration); not those who left for Pakistan after 1 March 1947 unless they returned under a resettlement permit; and persons of Indian origin abroad who registered. Article 9 excludes anyone who voluntarily took a foreign citizenship, and Article 11 leaves the rest to Parliament.

The Citizenship Act, 1955 gives five ways in: birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory. Birth in India alone was enough until 30 June 1987; from 1 July 1987 one parent had to be a citizen, and from 3 December 2004 both parents must be citizens, or one a citizen and the other not an illegal migrant. Naturalisation needs twelve months' residence before applying plus eleven of the fourteen years before that. There are three ways out: renunciation by declaration, automatic termination on voluntarily taking another country's citizenship, and deprivation by order of the Central Government, which applies to citizens by registration or naturalisation.

Because India has no dual citizenship, the Overseas Citizen of India card (created in 2003 and merged with the PIO card in 2015) gives a lifelong visa but no political rights. The 2003 amendment defined an illegal migrant; the 2019 amendment exempts members of six communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered by 31 December 2014 and cuts their naturalisation period to five years, except in Sixth Schedule tribal areas and Inner Line permit areas. Section 6A for Assam uses 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971 as its cut-offs and was upheld by the Supreme Court in October 2024.

At a glance: salient features and citizenship
TopicKey facts
Adoption and commencementAdopted 26 Nov 1949; in force 26 Jan 1950; citizenship and election provisions from 26 Nov 1949 (Art 394)
SizeOriginally 395 Articles, 22 Parts, 8 Schedules; now 25 Parts, 12 Schedules
Sources1935 Act largest; Britain, US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and others
AmendmentSimple majority outside Art 368; special majority; special majority plus half the States; basic structure limit
Added SchedulesNinth (1st, 1951), Tenth (52nd, 1985), Eleventh (73rd, 1992), Twelfth (74th, 1992)
Citizenship in 1950Arts 5–8; Art 9 bars voluntary foreign citizenship; Art 11 lets Parliament legislate
Ways in and outBirth, descent, registration, naturalisation, incorporation; renunciation, termination, deprivation
Later changesOCI (2003, PIO merged 2015); 2019 amendment (31 Dec 2014); Section 6A for Assam (upheld 2024)

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Match List I with List II:
List I (Country)
A. Canada
B. Australia
C. Ireland
D. Japan
List II (Feature borrowed)
1. Concurrent List
2. Procedure established by law
3. Residuary powers with the Centre
4. Nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
  2. A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2
  3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
  4. A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
Show answer

Answer: A. A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

Canada gave residuary powers with the Centre, Australia the Concurrent List, Ireland the nomination of Rajya Sabha members and Japan 'procedure established by law'. The second code swaps Canada and Australia, the third swaps Ireland and Japan, and the fourth swaps Canada and Ireland.

Q2. The Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, listing subjects for panchayats, was added by the

  1. 52nd Amendment
  2. 73rd Amendment
  3. 74th Amendment
  4. 97th Amendment
Show answer

Answer: B. 73rd Amendment

The 73rd Amendment (1992) added the Eleventh Schedule. The 52nd added the Tenth (anti-defection), the 74th added the Twelfth (municipalities), and the 97th added Part IXB on co-operative societies, not a Schedule.

Q3. Consider the following statements:
1. Provisions of the Constitution relating to citizenship came into force on 26 November 1949.
2. The Constitution came fully into force on 26 January 1950.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Both are correct: Article 394 brought citizenship, election and some other provisions into force on adoption, and the rest followed on 26 January 1950. Each single-statement option leaves out a correct statement, and 'neither' rejects both.

Q4. The collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the Lok Sabha is laid down in

  1. Article 74(1)
  2. Article 75(3)
  3. Article 78
  4. Article 368
Show answer

Answer: B. Article 75(3)

Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. Article 74(1) provides for the Council of Ministers to aid and advise the President, Article 78 sets out the Prime Minister's duty to inform the President, and Article 368 is the amendment procedure.

Q5. An Indian citizen who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country ceases to be an Indian citizen. Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, this is called

  1. Renunciation
  2. Termination
  3. Deprivation
  4. Suspension
Show answer

Answer: B. Termination

This is termination under section 9, and it is automatic. Renunciation needs a declaration by the citizen, deprivation needs an order of the Central Government, and the Act has no 'suspension' of citizenship.

Q6. Consider the following statements:
1. Under Article 5, a person domiciled in India who had been ordinarily resident in India for at least five years immediately before the commencement of the Constitution became a citizen.
2. Article 8 deals with persons who migrated from India to Pakistan.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: migrants to Pakistan are covered by Article 7; Article 8 is about persons of Indian origin living abroad. So '2 only' and 'both' are wrong, and 'neither' ignores statement 1.

Q7. For citizenship by naturalisation under the Third Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955, the general residence requirement is

  1. Five years in all during the preceding seven years
  2. Seven years of continuous residence
  3. Twelve months before applying plus eleven of the fourteen years before that
  4. Fourteen years of continuous residence
Show answer

Answer: C. Twelve months before applying plus eleven of the fourteen years before that

The rule is twelve months immediately before the application plus eleven years in all during the fourteen years before that. Five years applies only to the communities covered by the 2019 amendment, seven years is the residence condition for registration, and no rule requires fourteen continuous years.

Q8. Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, the covered persons from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan must have entered India on or before

  1. 25 March 1971
  2. 1 January 1966
  3. 3 December 2004
  4. 31 December 2014
Show answer

Answer: D. 31 December 2014

The cut-off is 31 December 2014. 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971 are the Assam cut-offs in Section 6A, and 3 December 2004 is when the 2003 amendment's birth rule took effect.

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