OBJECTIVE
The objective of this webinar is to provide insight into the Constitutional Provisions relating to Union and its territories, Citizenship and Official Language. This webinar is the second from the Webinar series on Constitution. The scope of this webinar is confined to discussing the nature of the Indian State, creation and formation of States, etc. This webinar further throws light on the Constitutional provisions with respect to Citizenship along with a brief overview of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The last part of the Webinar deals with Official Language of the Union and the State read conjointly with the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
4. Presentation Schema
4
Important
Definitions and
Terminologies
Nature of the
Indian State
Essential Features
of a Federal State
Indian
Constitution’s
Departure from
the Federal System
Indian Constitution
– Whether Federal
or Unitary?
Territory of the
Union
Meaning of
Citizenship
Persons who
became Citizens on
January 26, 1950
The Citizenship
Act, 1955
Official Language
of the Union
Eighth Schedule –
22 Recognized
Languages
Official Languages
Act, 1963
State’s Official
Language
Other Provisions
5. 5
Name of the Article Art. No.
Name and territory of the Union 1
Admission or establishment of new States 2
Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States 3
Laws made under articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the
Fourth Schedules and supplemental, incidental matters
4
Name of the Article Art. No.
Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution 5
Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan 6
Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan 7
Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India 8
Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens 9
Continuance of the rights of citizenship 10
Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law 11
Overview of Provisions
I. Union and its Territories
II. Citizenship
6. 6
Name of the Article Art. No.
Official language of the Union 343
Official Language Commission 344
Official language or languages of a State 345
Official language for communication between one State and another 346
Special provision relating to language spoken by a section of the population of a State 347
Language to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts, Bills,
etc
348
Special procedure for enactment of certain laws relating to language 349
Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances 350
Directive for development of the Hindi language 351
III. Official Language
Contd.
8. 8
Federal System of Government
•Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a National (Federal)
government and various State governments.
•Examples of Federal countries are The United States of America, Switzerland, Malaysia,
Commonwealth of Australia, The Federal Republic of Germany.
Central/Federal
Government
States
= Direction of Power
9. 9
Unitary System of Government
▪ One Central Government controls the constituent states, there is no division of power.
▪ Examples: China, United Kingdom
Central /Federal
Government
States
= Direction of Power
10. 10
Nature of the Indian State
Article 1(1) of the Indian Constitution reads as follows –
“India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
While submitting the draft Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar, stated that ‘although its Constitution may be
federal in structure’, the Drafting Committee had used the term “Union” because of certain advantages
that –
(a) That the Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement by the component
units(states), and
(b) that the component units have no freedom to secede from it.
Apart from the label of “Federal” given by the draftsmen, an examination of the provisions of the
Constitution is essential to determine whether the Constitution provides a federal system or a Unitary
system
A federal State is the fusion of several states into a single State with regard to matters affecting
common interests, while each component State enjoys autonomy with regard to other matters. For
Example, The United States of America is an absolute Federal State.
The component States are not mere delegates or agents of the Federal Government but both the
Federal and State Governments draw their authority from the Constitution of the land.
At the same time, a component State has no right to secede from the federation at its will.
12. 12
• While in a unitary State, there is only one Government, namely the
National Government, in a federal State, there are two Governments –
the National or Federal Government and the Government of each
component State.
Dual Government
• There is a division of authority between the Federal Government and the
State Government.
Distribution of
Powers
• A federal State derives its existence from the Constitution. Every power –
executive, legislative or judicial – whether it belongs to the federation or
to the component States, is subordinate to and controlled by the
Constitution.
Supremacy of the
Constitution
• Courts have the final power to interpret the Constitution and nullify any
Governmental act, policy or law which is against the Constitution
Authority of Courts
Features
13. 13
Indian Constitution’s Departure from
the Federal System
Under the Indian Constitution, it is possible for the Union Parliament to reorganize
the states or to alter their boundaries even without the consent of the states as
they are not sovereign entities [Article 4(2)].
Even though there is a distribution of powers between the Union and the states as
under a Federal system, the distribution has a strong Central bias and the powers of
the states are subject to restrictions which impede their sovereignty as in the Unitary
system.
For example, according to Article 201, Legislation made by a State shall be subject to
disallowance by the President, when reserved by the Governor for consideration.
Moreover, the President, upon satisfaction that the administration of the State
cannot be carried on in the normal manner owing to political or other reasons, may
confer the executive and legislative powers of the state upon the Union [Article
356]
While the federal system is prescribed for normal times, the Indian Constitution
enables the federal Government to acquire the strength of a Unitary system in the
case of Emergencies [Article 353,354,357]
14. Indian Constitution – whether
Federal or Unitary?
It is a Union or composite State of a novel type. – Hon’ble Supreme Court in S.R.Bommai v. Union of
India, AIR 1994 SC 1918.
Thus, the Constitution of India is neither purely Federal nor purely unitary but is a combination of both.
Our Constitution thus introduces a system which normally works as a federal system but there are
provisions for converting it into a unitary set-up in exceptional circumstances.
14
15. Territory of the Union
The members of the Union, at present, are the 28 states and 9 Union territories.
Schedule I of the Constitution lists out the states and their territories and the union territories.
Article 2 of the Constitution provides that the Parliament, by law, may admit or establish any
new states into the Union subject to some terms and conditions as it may think fit (Ladakh and
Jammu Kashmir were recently notified as “Union Territories”)
However, the Honorable Supreme Court in the case of Pondyal v. Union of India, AIR 1993 SC
1804, has held that the power of Parliament to admit a new state is not unlimited but it is
subject to judicial review i.e. it is open to the Courts to examine whether the terms and
conditions provided by Parliament are consistent with the Constitutional scheme and the basic
features of the Indian Constitution.
15
16. Article 3 empowers the Parliament to
• (a) form a new state by separation of territory from any existing state or by unifying two or
more states or parts of states or by uniting any territory to a part of any state (Telangana was
formed by merging ten former districts of north-western Andhra Pradesh)
• (b) increase the area of any state,
• (c) diminish the area of any state,
• (d) alter the boundaries of any state,
• (e) alter the name of any state.
Article 4 provides that any such law made under Article 2 or 3 may make supplemental, incidental
and consequential provisions for making itself effective
16
Contd.
18. Meaning of Citizenship
Citizens
Enjoy full civil and political rights
Enjoy privileges and certain rights enumerated in the
Constitution like Article 19(Freedom of Speech and
Expression), Article 15(Prohibition of Discrimination).
Aliens
Aliens do not enjoy civil and
political rights
Aliens stand deprived of these
privileges
18
•The question of citizenship became particularly important at the time of making of our
Constitution because of the partition of India into India and Pakistan.
•However, the Constitution only described the classes of people who would be deemed to be
the citizens of India at the date of commencement of the Constitution.
19. Persons who became Citizens On
January 26, 1950
19
Citizens Article
Every person born as well as domiciled in the territory of India irrespective of his parents’ nationality Art.5(a)
Every person who domiciled in the territory of India, either of whose parents was born in the territory of
India
Art.5(b)
Every person domiciled in the territory of India who has been ordinarily resident for not less than 5 years
immediately preceding such commencement
Art.5(c)
A person who migrated from Pakistan, if either of his parents or grandparents were born in India as defined
in the Government of India Act, 1935
Art. 6(i)
A person who migrated from Pakistan before July 19, 1948 and has ordinarily resided within the territory of
India since the date of such migration
Art.6(ii)
A person who migrated from Pakistan on or before July 19, 1948 and makes an application before the
commencement of the Constitution for registering himself as a citizen of India and has resided for 6 months
prior to making the application
Art.6(iii
)
A person who migrated from India to Pakistan after the 1st march, 1947 but subsequently returned to India
under the Government’s permit for resettlement or permanent return and gets himself registered
Art.7
A person who, or any of whose grandparents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act,
1935, upon application in the prescribed form, to the consular or diplomatic representative of India
Art.8
20. Persons who are not Citizens
Article 9 mandates that no person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of Article 6 or Article 8, if
he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State.
20
Continuance of Citizenship Rights
Article 10 provides that any person who is a citizen of India by virtue of Article 5,6,7 and 8 shall
continue to be a citizen subject to the provisions of any law made by the Parliament.
21. The Citizenship Act, 1955
The makers of the Constitution left the entire law of citizenship to be regulated by a future law
made by the Parliament under Article 11 of the Constitution.
In pursuance of this, the Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted for the acquisition and termination of
citizenship and all matters relating to it.
It contains provisions regarding acquisition of citizenship, overseas citizenship, termination of
citizenship and other supplemental provisions (such as definitions, procedures for the grant of
certificate of registration, naturalisation, etc.).
21
22. Acquisition of Indian Citizenship
by Citizenship Act, 1955
22
Person Born in India Citizenship Status by Birth
From 26th January 1950 to 30th June 1987 Indian citizen irrespective of the nationality of his/her
parents.
From 01st July 1987 to 02nd December 2004 Indian citizen if either of his/her parents is a citizen of
the country at the time of his/her birth.
On or after 03rd December 2004 Indian Citizen if both his/her parents are Indians or at
least one parent is a citizen and the other is not an
illegal migrant at the time of birth.
1. By Birth
23. 23
2. By Descent(Parentage)
Person Born Outside India Citizenship Status By Descent
From 26th January 1950 to 9th December
1992
Indian citizen if his/her father was a citizen of India by
birth.
From 10 December 1992 to 2nd
December 2004
Indian citizen if either of his/her parent was a citizen
of India by birth.
On or after 03rd December 2004 Indian Citizen if parents declare that the minor(below
18 years) does not hold a passport of another country
and his/her birth is registered at an Indian Consulate
within one year of birth.
Contd.
24. 24
3. By Registration
Eligibility for Registration
• A person of Indian origin residing in India for 7 years.
• A person of Indian origin who is a resident of any country outside undivided
India(before Partition).
• A person who is married to an Indian citizen and is ordinarily resident for 7 years.
• Minor children(below 18 years) of persons who are citizens of India.
Contd.
25. 4. By Naturalisation
25
Naturalisation is the legal process by which a non-citizen may acquire citizenship of a country.
He/she must have resided in India for at least 11 out of 14 years preceding the application for
naturalization and 12 months immediately preceding the date of application.
Non-citizen must also fulfill the qualifications in the Third Schedule of the Citizenship Act such as good
character, renunciation of previous citizenship of another country.
Illegal Immigrants cannot get citizenship by way of naturalisation.
This was added in by The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2003 by the Government led by the then
Honourable Prime Minister Vajpayee.
Contd.
26. Loss of Indian Citizenship
Renunciation
The voluntary act by which a person holding the citizenship of
India as well as of another country may renounce one of them
Termination
It takes place by operation of law as soon as a citizen of India
voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country.
Deprivation
It is the compulsory termination of the citizenship of India, by an
order of the Government of India upon the happening of certain
contingencies. For example, Indian Citizenship was obtained by
fraud, disloyalty to India and the Constitution.
26
27. Overseas Citizenship
The Overseas Citizenship of India is an immigration status permitting a foreign citizen of Indian
origin to live and work in the Republic of India indefinitely.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 amends the grounds of cancellation of OC. The
amendment is as follows:
• If it is found that the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder(OCI) has violated any of the
provisions of the Citizenship Act or provisions of any other law notified by the Central
Government, the registration as an OCI can be cancelled after giving him/her an opportunity
of hearing.
27
28. The Citizenship Amendment
Act, 2019
28
1. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
Any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh or Pakistan will not be treated as an illegal immigrant if he/she entered India on or before
December 31, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government under Section 3(2)(c) of the
Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
2. AMENDMENT FOR QUALIFICATION FOR NATURALIZATION
The amendment relaxes period of stay to qualify for naturalisation from currently 11 years out of 14
years to 5 years out of 14 years for a person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian
community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan.
29. 29
3. GRANT OF CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION
• Central Government can grant a certificate of naturalization and a person who is granted the
certificate of registration or certificate of naturalization shall be deemed to be a citizen of India
from the date of his/her entry into India and any pending citizenship proceedings against
him/her will stand abated effective the date of the amendment. However, the tribal area of
Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and
the area covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation,
1873 are exempted from granting of registration.
4. GROUNDS OF CANCELLATION OF OCI CARD
• If it is found that the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder(OCI) has violated any of the provisions
of the Citizenship Act or provisions of any other law notified by the Central Government, the
registration as an OCI can be cancelled after giving him/her an opportunity of hearing.
Contd.
31. 31
Official Language of the Union
The official language of the Union is Hindi in Devanagri script.
Along with Hindi, English would continue to be the official language of the Union for 15
years from the commencement of the Constitution, i.e. from 1950 until 1965, for purposes
for which it was used prior to the commencement of the Constitution(Art.343)
The Constitution left it to the Parliament to decide on the use of English upon expiry of the
15 years. Parliament has enacted the Official Languages Act, 1963 in pursuance of this
power
Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists out the 22 recognized official languages in use in India.
32. Eighth Schedule – 22 Recognized
Languages
32
1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Bodo
4. Dogri
5. Gujarati
6. Hindi
7. Kannada
8. Kashmiri
9. Konkani
10. Maithili
11. Malayalam
12. Manipuri
13. Marathi
14. Nepali
15. Odia
16. Punjabi
17. Sanskrit
18. Santali
19. Sindhi
20. Tamil
21. Telugu
22. Urdu
33. Official Languages Act, 1963
Main Features of the Act
• It states that English language should be used for Official Purposes of the Union and for use in
the Parliament.
• Authorizes translation of Central Acts into Hindi in the Official Gazette Publication
• Authorizes translation of State Acts into Hindi and English under the authority of the Governor.
• Allows optional use of Hindi or other Official languages prescribed in the Eighth Schedule in
the judgment of High Courts after consultation with the Governor.
• Allows English to be used for purposes of communication between the Union and a State
which has not adopted Hindi as its official language(for example, Tamil Nadu, Telangana,
Kerala, etc.).
• Thus, English and Hindi, both are official languages of India
33
34. Official Languages Commission
▪ Article 344 provides for the appointment of a Commission as well as a Committee of
Parliament to advise the President as to certain matters relating to the official Language
at the expiration of 5 years and again the expiration of 10 years from the commencement
of the Constitution. It was constituted twice accordingly and is not in existence anymore.
▪ The commission consisted of a Chairman and such other members representing the
different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint.
▪ The duties of the Commission was to make recommendations to the President on:-
(a) the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union ;
(b) restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of
the Union ;
(c) the language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned in article 348;
(d) the form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes of the Union;
(e) any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as regards the official
language of the Union and the language for communication between the Union and a
State or between one State and another and their use.
34
35. State’s Official Language and
Communication with the Union
▪ Though Hindi is the official language of India, the states may by law adopt Hindi or any
other languages, other than Hindi, in use in the state (Art.345)
▪ By Article 346, the official languages for communication between one state and another or
between a state and the union are as follows:
▫ English should be used for communication between a State and Union
▫ If two or more states agree that the Hindi language should be used for
communication between the states, Hindi may be used for such communication,
otherwise English
▫ In no circumstances, any languages apart from English and Hindi shall be used
35
36. Other Provisions
▪ The President may specify a particular language to be recognised throughout a State or any
part thereof if he is satisfied that a substantial proportion of the population of a State or any
part thereof desire recognition of the language spoken by them. (Article 347)
▪ According to the Article 348, language to be used in the Supreme Court and in High Courts and
for passing of bills, acts, etc. will be in the English language.
▪ Article 350 states that every person shall be entitled to submit a representation for the redress
of any grievance to any officer or authority of the union or a state, in any of the languages used
in the union (Hindi or English) or in the state (state’s official language).
▪ Article 351 says that it shall be the duty of the union to promote the spread of the Hindi
language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of
the composite culture of India.
36
