The right to belong beyond official documentation
The article critically examines the evolving understanding of Indian citizenship, triggered by a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs that a passport is merely a 'travel document' and not a 'citizenship document'. It highlights how this assertion, coupled with recent Supreme Court pronouncements on the Election Commission's power to scrutinize citizenship during electoral roll revisions, and amendments to the Citizenship Act (2019, 2024) introducing religious criteria, raises fundamental questions about who belongs and on what terms. The author argues that while Article 11 grants Parliament power over citizenship, this power is implicitly limited by the Constitution's foundational commitments to secularism, equality, and non-discrimination, as evidenced by Constituent Assembly debates rejecting religious criteria. The article traces the shift from 'jus soli' to more restrictive citizenship laws and criticizes the Supreme Court's recent interpretations that appear to grant unlimited power to Parliament and shift the burden of proof onto individuals, potentially stripping them of rights by placing them in a bureaucratic limbo. It concludes by emphasizing that citizenship, as the basis for fundamental rights and personhood, should not solely depend on paperwork but on constitutional ideals.
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