Summary

Polity Class 09

Polity Class 09 [17:00:00]

A brief discussion of the previous class and Q&A session

Citizenship Acquisition process continued [17:18:00]

Citizenship by Naturalization
Central government may on an application grant a certificate of Naturalization to any person (Not an illegal migrant) if he possesses the following qualification
a) That he is not a citizen of any country where citizens of India are prevented from becoming citizens of that country by Naturalization
b) If a citizen of any country, he undertakes to renounce the citizenship of that country in the event of his application being accepted in India
c) If he has either resided in India or been in the service of a government in India or Partly the one or partly the other over a period of 12 months preceding the date of the application
d) He must be of good character
e) He must have adequate knowledge of the language specified in the 8th schedule of the constitution
f) Once he is given citizenship he will be eligible to reside in India to serve in the Government of India or in any International Organization or company set up by an Indian citizen
g) The government can remove all or any of these conditions if the government feels that the person has rendered distinguished service to the science, philosophy, Art, literature, world peace, or Human progress
By incorporation of a territory
If any foreign territory becomes a part of India, the government specifies the persons within the particular territory who can become citizens of the country. For example- When Pondicherry became part of India, people were granted Indian citizenship.

Loss of Citizenship [17:35:00]

By Renunciation
Any citizen of India of full age and capacity can make a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship. Once this declaration is registered then that person ceases to be a citizen of India. If this declaration is made during a time of war its registration will be withheld by the central government till the end of the war
By termination
When an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires citizenship of another country, his Indian citizenship automatically is terminated
By Deprivation
It is a compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the central government
a) If the citizen has obtained citizenship by fraud
b) The citizen has shown disloyalty to the constitution of India
c) The citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war
d) The citizen has within 5 years after registration or Naturalization been imprisoned in any foreign country for 2 years
e) The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for 7 years continuously

Overseas citizenship of India [18:00:00]

In September 2000, GoI set up a committee to engage constructively Indian citizens whoever residing abroad
Citizenship Amendment Act 2003, made provisions for the acquisition of OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) by the PIOs (Persons of Indian origin) of 16 specified countries other than Pakistan and Bangladesh
OCI is a not a dual citizenship as the Indian constitution has provisions only for single citizenship
In 2002, the PIOs card scheme was introduced and later and later OCI card was introduced in 2005. In order to avoid confusion and also in order to provide more benefits, the government decided to merge PIOs and the OCI scheme
In 2015, the citizenship Amendment Act was passed and it introduced the OCI cardholder scheme.
OCI cardholders can benefit in the form of multiple entry and Lifelong visas for visiting India for any purpose
They enjoy parity with NRIs with respect to all facilities available to them in all fields of economics, finance, and education.
They can visit India without Visa for lifelong.

Fundamental Rights [18:19:00]

Rights and Philosophy- Explanation

Part III, Article 12-35- Fundamental rights
Rights- it is a privilege conferred on a person
Fundamental right- basic to our existence, we can not live without these rights, we can not lead a respectable, dignified life without these rights
As human beings when we take birth as free souls, then there is no restriction & at the time of death also, no restriction- The right to life.
Without the Right to life, there is no meaning of existence.
For any democratic government, rule-based governance, the right to life is central.
All of us are born equal, at the time of Birth there was no caste, no religion, that is why it is NATURAL for someone that if nature did not discriminate then society should also not discriminate
Nature does not differentiate, such as Pond or tree- That is why it is NATURAL to have a Right against Discrimination
After Birth we are given Artificial identity/ Ascribed status- Which causes all the problems in society
"life is a long journey from being Human Being to Being Humane"- After birth, we forget that we are human beings and we follow the Artificial identity
Why should we differentiate/ discriminate for something which was assigned to us after Birth, we need to follow only one thing i.e. humanity/ human beings.

Dictation of Fundamental Rights

Fundamental rights are called Fundamental because they are essential for basic human existence. They are guaranteed and protected by the constitution. They are most essential for The round development of individuals. They are incorporated in part III of our constitution from Article 12 to Article 35.
They are derived from the constitution of the USA (Bill of Rights)
They are guaranteed to all persons without any discrimination. Fundamental Rights can be broadly divided into the following categories
a) Right to equality [Article 14-18]
b) Right to Freedom [Article 19-22]
c) Right against exploitation [Articles 23- 24]
d) Right to freedom of religion [Articles 25- 28]
e) Cultural and educational rights [Artilcles 29-30]
f) Right to property- Article 31 [* It was removed by the 44th Constitutional Amendment and was made an ordinary legal right]
g) Right to constitutional remedies [Article 32]

Features of Fundamental Rights [19:01:00]

Some of these Fundamental Rights are available only to Indian citizens while others are available to foreigners also
Fundamental rights are not absolute it means the state can impose reasonable restrictions and the Judiciary will decide whether the restrictions are reasonable or not
All these FRs are available against the arbitrary action of the state. Some of them are available against private individuals also.
Some of these FRs are negative in character i.e. they place limitations on the authority of the state whereas some others are positive they confer certain privileges on the people
FRs are Justiciable i.e. Violation of these FRs can be challenged in a court of law
FRs are not sacrosanct i.e. they are not permanent or rigid. Parliament can limit the scope of FRs but it must be done with a Constitutional Amendment. It should also be done without affecting the basic structure of the constitution
FRs can be suspended during the operation of a National emergency except for Rights guaranteed under Articles 20 and 21. Six rights guaranteed under Article 19 can be suspended only when an emergency is imposed on grounds of war and external aggression
FRs can also be limited by Articles 31 A, 31 B, and 31 C

Article 12 of the Indian constitution [19:30:00]

Article 12 defines the "state" regarding the FRs of citizens under Part III of our constitution
It includes the following
a) The government of India and the Parliament of India i.e. the executive and legislative organs of the union government
Parliament consists of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and the President whereas the executive consists of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister
b) Government and Legislature of states i.e. the executive and legislative organs of the state government
It includes State legislative assemblies, legislative councils, and councils of ministers headed by the chief minister
c) All the local authorities including Municipalities, Panchayats, District Boards, Improvement Trusts, and so on
d) All other authorities i.e. Statutory and non-statutory Authorities like LIC, ONGC, SAIL
Article 12 defines state in a much wider sense so that the actions of all these organizations can be challenged in a court of law for violation of FRs
Judiciary is not included in the definition of state under Article 12 of the Constitution because it is given the power to pronounce judgments in the case of violation of FRs
When Judiciary performs non-Judicial functions it falls within the definition of the state under Article 12 of the constitution.

Private sector- A part of the state? [19:56:00]

Recently the issue has come up regarding the inclusion of the private sector in the definition of the state. After 1991, India opted for liberalization, Privatization, and globalization as part of LPG, the government has opted for Public-private partnerships for Infrastructure development and industrialization.
It has raised questions regarding the Inclusion of the Private sector in the definition of state but till now there is no clarity regarding the status of the private sector in the definition of the state.

The Topic for the next class:- Article 12 & Article 13 of the Indian constitution.