Citizenship: Articles 5 to 11
Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11, answered one question for the start of the Republic: who was a citizen of India on the day the Constitution began? For everything after that, it left the rules to Parliament. In this lesson you will learn what each of the seven articles does, apply Article 5 to real cases, and see which rights belong only to citizens.
Guess first
You met Article 5 in lesson 1: it was one of the few articles that came into force at once.
Guess first: what is the subject of Article 5?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 5 is titled "Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution". It opens Part II, Citizenship.
Option B: Equality before law is Article 14, in Part III.
Option C: Name and territory of the Union is Article 1, in Part I.
Option D: Fundamental duties are Article 51A, in Part IVA.
Hint: Article 5 opens Part II. What is Part II about?
An everyday picture
Think of a club that is founded on a fixed day.
Part II is like the rules of a new club:
Founder members Article 5
who counts as a citizen at the commencement
Members who moved Articles 6 and 7
people who migrated to India from Pakistan, or to Pakistan
Members living abroad Article 8
persons of Indian origin residing outside India
Joining another club Article 9
voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State means no citizenship under Articles 5, 6 or 8
Staying a member Article 10
citizens continue to be citizens, subject to laws made by Parliament
The club council Article 11
Parliament makes all later rules of citizenship by law
The club picture has one limit: a club can refuse anyone, but Article 5 is a rule. Whoever met it at the commencement was a citizen.
See it: Article 5 as a map
Article 5 asks one gate question, then gives three ways through. The text: every person "who has his domicile in the territory of India" and who meets clause (a), (b) or (c) "shall be a citizen of India".
flowchart TD A["Domicile in India at the commencement?"] -->|No| X["Not a citizen under Article 5"] A -->|Yes| B["(a) Born in India?"] B -->|Yes| C["Citizen of India"] B -->|No| D["(b) Either parent born in India?"] D -->|Yes| C D -->|No| E["(c) Ordinarily resident in India for 5 years or more?"] E -->|Yes| C E -->|No| X
The same map in words: first, domicile in India is needed. Then any one of three: (a) born in the territory of India; (b) either parent born there; (c) ordinarily resident in India for not less than five years before the commencement.
How to apply Article 5 to a person:
- Gate: did the person have domicile in India at the commencement? If not, Article 5 does not make him a citizen.
- Check (a): born in the territory of India?
- If not, check (b): was either parent born in India? One parent is enough.
- If not, check (c): ordinarily resident in India for not less than five years before the commencement?
Try it on paper. Write your own family as if the Constitution were starting today: where each person was born and where they lived. Walk one person through the map and say which clause applies.
Find the rule
Three quick checks on the citizenship articles and on who holds which rights.
Which article says that nothing in Part II reduces the power of Parliament to make laws on citizenship?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 11 is titled "Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law". It keeps Parliament's power over the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters of citizenship.
Option B: Article 5 is Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution.
Option C: Article 9 is about persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State.
Option D: Article 10 is the Continuance of the rights of citizenship.
Hint: It is the last article of Part II.
Article 9 deals with persons who:
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 9: no person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of Article 5, or be deemed one by virtue of Article 6 or Article 8, "if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State".
Option B: Persons who migrated to India from Pakistan are Article 6.
Option C: Persons of Indian origin residing outside India are Article 8.
Option D: Continuance of the rights of citizenship is Article 10.
Hint: Article 9's title ends with the words "not to be citizens".
The freedoms of Article 19, such as the freedom of speech, belong to whom?
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Correct answer: A
Article 19(1) begins: "All citizens shall have the right". These freedoms are for citizens. Equality before law in Article 14, by contrast, is for any person.
Option B: "Any person" is the word of Article 14, equality before law, not of Article 19.
Option C: Children of six to fourteen years are the subject of Article 21A, the right to education.
Option D: All minorities are the subject of Article 30, on educational institutions.
Hint: Read the first words of Article 19(1).
Name it: who was a citizen, and who decides now
The rule: Article 5 named the citizens at the commencement: domicile in India plus birth, a parent's birth, or five years' ordinary residence. Articles 6 to 10 handled special cases. Article 11 leaves all later rules to Parliament.
Some Fundamental Rights belong only to citizens. Article 19 begins "All citizens shall have the right", while Article 14 protects "any person". The Fundamental Duties of Article 51A too are the "duty of every citizen of India".
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Mohan had his domicile in India at the commencement. He was born outside India. His father was born in India. Was he a citizen under Article 5?
Solution
- Gate: domicile
Yes, he had his domicile in the territory of India.
- Clause (a): born in India?
No, he was born outside India.
- Clause (b): either parent born in India?
Yes, his father was. One parent is enough.
Answer: Yes, under clause (b) of Article 5.
Watch out: clause (b) says "either of whose parents", not both parents.
Now finish one that is half done.
Half done: Asha had her domicile in India at the commencement. She was born outside India, and neither of her parents was born in India (so clauses (a) and (b) fail). She had been ordinarily resident in India for six years before the commencement. Which clause of Article 5 makes her a citizen?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
Clause (c) needs ordinary residence "for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement". Six years is more than five, and she had her domicile in India.
Option A: Clause (a) needs birth in the territory of India; Asha was born outside India.
Option B: Clause (b) needs either parent born in India; neither was.
Option D: One clause is enough, and clause (c) applies to her.
Hint: Compare her six years with the number in clause (c).
And one on your own.
Ravi had his domicile in India at the commencement. He was born outside India, his mother was born in India, and he had lived in India for three years. Which clause of Article 5 makes him a citizen?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Clause (b) asks whether either parent was born in India. His mother was, so he is a citizen under clause (b).
Option A: Clause (a) needs Ravi himself to be born in India; he was born outside.
Option C: Clause (c) needs not less than five years of ordinary residence; three years is too short.
Option D: He meets clause (b), so he is a citizen under Article 5.
Hint: One parent born in India is enough for clause (b).
The traps
- Both parents: clause (b) needs either parent born in India, not both.
- Residence years: clause (c) needs not less than five years of ordinary residence.
- Forgetting domicile: all three clauses of Article 5 need domicile in India first.
- Who regulates: Article 11 names Parliament, not the President or the Prime Minister.
- Citizens or persons: Article 19's freedoms are for all citizens; Article 14's equality before law is for any person.
Anil wrote: "Article 11 lets the President regulate citizenship." Whom does Article 11 actually name?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 11 is titled "Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law".
Option B: The President is a part of Parliament under Article 79, but Article 11 names Parliament and its power to make law.
Option C: The Prime Minister heads the Council of Ministers that aids and advises the President (Article 74); Article 11 does not name him.
Option D: The Constituent Assembly made the Constitution; it does not regulate citizenship afterwards.
Hint: Citizenship rules are made by law. Who makes laws for the Union?
Mixed check
Article 394 lists articles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 among those that came into force at once. The last two citizenship articles, Articles 10 and 11, are not in that list. When did they come into force?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 394 says the remaining provisions "shall come into force on the twenty-sixth day of January, 1950". The citizenship Articles 10 and 11 are not in its list, so they came into force on 26 January 1950.
Option B: 26 November 1949 is the adoption date written in the Preamble.
Option C: 24 January 1950 is the date the members put their signature on the Constitution.
Option D: 9 December 1946 is the Constituent Assembly's first sitting.
Hint: Anything not on Article 394's "at once" list waited for the commencement.
Quick reference
Citizenship: Part II, Articles 5 to 11
- Article 5
- citizens at the commencement domicile in India plus (a) born in India, or (b) either parent born in India, or (c) ordinarily resident for not less than five years
- Articles 6 and 7
- migration and Pakistan to India from Pakistan; to Pakistan
- Article 8
- persons of Indian origin residing outside India citizenship rights abroad
- Article 9
- voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not a citizen under Articles 5, 6 or 8
- Article 10
- continuance of the rights of citizenship subject to laws made by Parliament
- Article 11
- Parliament to regulate citizenship by law acquisition, termination and all other matters
- Citizens only
- Article 19 "All citizens shall have the right"
- Any person
- Article 14 equality before law
Why it works: Article 5 fixed the first citizens; Article 11 handed everything after that to Parliament.
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