UPSC Prelims 2021 Question:

With reference to India, consider the following statements:

1. There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
2. A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
3. A foreigner once granted the citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• Though the Indian Constitution is federal and envisages a dual polity (Centre and states), it provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship. A person whether born in Uttar Pradesh or Odisha can only be a citizen of India. There is no separate state citizenship. The other federal States like the USA and Switzerland, on the other hand, adopted the system of double citizenship. Thus, in India, there is only one citizenship and one domicile. So, statement 1 is correct.
  
  
• In India both a citizen by birth as well as a naturalised citizen are eligible for the office of President (Head of State) while in the USA, only a citizen by birth and not a naturalised citizen is eligible for the office of President. So, statement 2 is not correct.
  
  
• The Citizenship Act (1955) prescribes three ways of losing citizenship whether acquired under the Act or prior to it under the Constitution, viz, renunciation, termination and deprivation.
  
  
• Deprivation: It is a compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the Central government, if:

(a) The citizen has obtained the 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 five years after registration or naturalisation, been imprisoned in any country for two years.

(e) The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously. So, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (1) is the correct answer.

Subject: Polity | Citizenship