What Is Citizenship?

Citizenship is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law of a

sovereign state or local jurisdiction. In many sovereign states, citizenship is equal
to nationality, which is in international law the membership to a sovereign state.

It also implies full and equal members of a political community.

Full membership

Full Membership of a political community means that he/she enjoys all civil as
well as political rights under the protection of the state in return for his/her loyalty
to the state This means that he/she agrees to abide by the rules and regulations
of the society, not be a disturbance to the society and follow his/her duties
completely along with rights.

A Collective political Identity: Nation-states provide a collective political identity

to their members as well as certain rights. Therefore we think of ourselves as
Indians, or Japanese, or Germans, depending on the state to which we belong.

Citizens expect certain rights from their state as well as help and protection
wherever they may travel. Certain rights are required so that a person is able to
live their lives with dignity and can progress and develop in the respective areas
of interest. A citizen also requires protection towards his/her life or right to life, so
that one may live freely.

A state is also required for protection towards threats and that can provide
necessary conditions for minimum quality of life.
Refugees do not have full membership in their country and hence they do not
enjoy any rights and live like strangers in another country. Such people are not
guaranteed rights by any state and generally live in precarious conditions.

Equal Membership
The term "equal membership" refers to the fact that all citizens have the same
rights. Nobody is treated unfairly because of their caste, religion, region, or
gender. When we talk about citizenship, we're talking about rights and
responsibilities, which we've won after many battles, such as the Indian freedom
struggle. Black people in South Africa fought for equal rights.
Citizenship encompasses not only state-citizen relations but also citizens and
their responsibilities to the state. It encompasses not only state-imposed legal
obligations but also a moral obligation to participate in and contribute to the
community's shared life.

Citizens are also regarded as the inheritors and trustees of the country's culture
and natural resources.

The exact nature of citizens' rights varies by state, but in most

democratic countries today, they would include political rights
such as the right to vote, civil rights such as freedom of speech
or belief, and socio-economic rights such as the right to a
minimum wage or the right to education.
The right to equality of rights and status is one of the
fundamental rights of citizenship.
Why do migrants/outsiders often face resistance?
Locals become resentful of jobs and opportunities being given
to people from outside the area, sometimes at lower wages, as
a result of worker migration. There may be a demand to limit
certain jobs to state residents or those who speak the local
language. The issue could be taken up by political parties.
Organised violence against "outsiders" could be part of the
resistance. Such movements have occurred in almost every
region of India. There may be a distinction between how we
respond to poor migrants and how we respond to skilled
migrants at times. We may not always be as welcoming to poor
migrants who move into our communities as we are to highly
skilled and wealthy workers.
 Equal Rights
Equal rights should be provided to all citizens, but not everyone in India receives
them. For example,' slum dwellers' who migrate from poorer parts of the country
such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and settle in cities to make a living. They leave
their villages and settle in urban areas such as Delhi and Mumbai.

These poor migrants do not receive basic housing and live in slums in one small
room with no clean drinking water, sanitation, proper nutrition, or housing, but
they also play an important role by cleaning our homes, cleaning our cars, and so
on.

As a result, even if these poor people are Indians, they do not have access to the
bare essentials of life.

Another example: The Tribals living in the forests have been rendered homeless
and been rooted out from their traditional place.

The forests are being cut down by rich people for their own commercial interests.
They build hotels, playgrounds and their own beautiful locales but destroy the
tribal people's area of living traditional place.

The same is the case with women, although they have equal rights still they are
being discriminated against. They are attacked at night and many crimes are
committed against them.
 Citizen and Nation

The nation is different from a country. A country is defined by territory and

government with a population in it. A nation is defined in terms of culture and
history; it provides an identity to an individual on the basis of which they are
recognised as different from other countries.

For example Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, American.

The State, then, provides rights to these individuals so that they can enjoy
themselves also different states provide different rights.

Indian constitution has included citizenship in part II.

How Citizenship can be acquired?

Citizenship can be acquired by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and

inclusion of territory.

By Birth: If an individual is born in a country, he/she automatically becomes a

citizen of that country.
Descent means that if his/her parents are born in that country, he/she
automatically becomes a citizen of that country.

Registration means registering or applying for citizenship in another country.

Naturalisation means that a person lives in the country for a minimum period of
time and then naturally he/she acquires the citizenship of that country.

Inclusion of territory: if a country acquires territory of a country, then the

defeated country acquires the citizenship of a victorious country.

What is Universal Citizenship?

The concept of universal citizenship creates a new type of political relationship

between migrants and host countries. Because of social and economic
inequalities, people are unable to fully enjoy their national citizenship. As a result
of famine, devastation, or war, many people become stateless on a global scale.

They don't have citizenship in a country that can protect and defend them. They
rely on the other country to protect them and provide them with the essentials of
life. Although many states support the idea of universal and inclusive citizenship,
each state sets its own criteria for citizenship.

Many countries face a difficult humanitarian and political problem when deciding
how many people they can accept as citizens. Many countries have a refugee
policy that welcomes people fleeing persecution or war. They may, however, be
unwilling to accept an unmanageable number of people or risk putting the country
in danger.

As it did in 1959 with the Dalai Lama and his followers, India takes pride in
providing refuge to persecuted peoples.

People from neighbouring countries have crossed all of the state's borders into
India, and the process is still ongoing. Many of these people have spent years or
generations as stateless people in camps or as illegal migrants.
However, each country has a limit on how many refugees it can accept, and it
must first look after its own citizens.

What is Global Citizenship?

The concept of universal citizenship creates a new type of political relationship

between migrants and host countries. Because of social and economic
inequalities, people are unable to fully enjoy their national citizenship. As a result
of famine, devastation, or war, many people become stateless on a global scale.

They don't have citizenship in a country that can protect and defend them. They
rely on the other country to protect them and provide them with the essentials of
life. Although many states support the idea of universal and inclusive citizenship,
each state sets its own criteria for citizenship.

Many countries face a difficult humanitarian and political problem when deciding
how many people they can accept as citizens. Many countries have a refugee
policy that welcomes people fleeing persecution or war. They may, however, be
unwilling to accept an unmanageable number of people or risk putting the country
in danger.
As it did in 1959 with the Dalai Lama and his followers, India takes pride in
providing refuge to persecuted peoples.
People from neighbouring countries have crossed all of the state's borders into
India, and the process is still ongoing. Many of these people have spent years or
generations as stateless people in camps or as illegal migrants.
However, each country has a limit on how many refugees it can accept, and it
must first look after its own citizens.