Syllabus: Indian Constitution — historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Background: Citizenship and Electoral Rolls
- Indian passports and electoral rolls are meant only for citizens, but both can be forged.
- India lacks a single definitive document that conclusively proves citizenship nationwide.
- The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) triggered debate on its authority to verify citizenship.
Legal Framework and Administrative Challenges
- Citizenship determination legally lies with the MHA, the Citizenship Act, 1955, and Foreigners Tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
- ECI argues verifying eligibility for enrolment requires examining citizenship status.
- Citizenship burden of proof lies entirely on the individual, not the state.
NPR–NRC Architecture
- NPR collected resident data in 2010 and updated it in 2015.
- NRC includes only those who can prove citizenship under the Act.
- BJP dropped nationwide NRC from its 2024 manifesto; its future remains unclear.
- Citizenship by birth now has conditions based on parental citizenship and “illegal migrant” status.
Assam NRC Experience
- Assam has a unique regime under Section 6A of the Citizenship Act.
- The 2019 draft NRC labelled 19 lakh residents as “Doubtful Citizens”.
- Determination relied heavily on legacy documents going back decades.
Democratic Paradox
- Citizenship, sedition, and loyalty are effectively judged by ground-level officials.
- The state, created by the people, now decides who the people are.
- This tension persists whether citizenship verification is done by ECI or MHA.
