Democracy’s Paradox & Citizenship Governance 

Context

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

• This triggered a debate on whether the ECI is indirectly conducting a de facto citizenship verification.

• Raises fundamental questions on who determines citizenship, what constitutes evidence, and how democratic legitimacy is constructed.

Why the Issue Matters

• No single, fool-proof document conclusively proves Indian citizenship.

• Voting rights, passports, NRC/NPR data — all can be forged, contested, or revoked.

• Citizenship sits at the core of democratic membership → determines who the people are.

Legal Challenge to ECI’s SIR

Petitioners’ Arguments

1. ECI has no power to determine citizenship

   • Citizenship determination is the sole responsibility of the MHA under:

     • Citizenship Act, 1955

     • Foreigners Act, 1946

     • Foreigners Tribunals

2. No legal basis for en masse SIR

   • Electoral roll revision can be selective, not nationwide.

3. Foreigners can only be determined by established legal bodies, not by ECI staff.

ECI’s Defence

• Verifying citizenship status is implicit in determining eligibility for electoral rolls.

• ECI claims it is not determining citizenship, only assessing eligibility.

Fundamental Philosophical Question

Presumption Challenged:

“All residents are presumed citizens unless proven otherwise.”

SIR reverses the logic by requiring individuals to establish their citizenship proactively.

Citizenship: Evidence vs Status

No single conclusive proof of citizenship exists in India.

• Passport ≠ proof

• Electoral roll ≠ proof

• Aadhaar ≠ proof (explicitly non-citizenship)

Why?

• Documents can be forged, wrongly issued, or insufficient.

This creates a conflict between:

• Evidence of status (documents people hold)
  vs

• Status of evidence (whether these documents are recognized as valid proof)

NPR, NRC & National Identity Cards

Legal Foundations

• Citizenship Act (Amendment), 2004: mandates compulsory registration of citizens → National Identity Cards.

• Citizenship Rules, 2003:

  • NPR (National Population Register) → list of all residents.

  • NRC (National Register of Citizens) → subset of NPR, containing only citizens who can prove eligibility.

Burden of Proof

• Always on the individual, not the state.
  This is central to India’s citizenship regime.

Status

• NPR collected in 2010, updated in 2015.

• Unclear whether updated with Census 2027.

• BJP 2024 manifesto → silent on NRC (earlier promised in 2019).

Evolution of Citizenship in India: Jus Soli → Jus Sanguinis

Founders preferred Jus Soli (citizenship by birth)

Over time, India moved to a blood/lineage-based model (Jus Sanguinis):

Current Citizenship by Birth Rules

1. Born before 1 July 1987 → citizen by birth (no condition)

2. Born 1 July 1987 – 2 Dec 2004 → one parent must be a citizen

3. Born on/after 3 Dec 2004 →

   • one parent must be a citizen AND

   • other parent must not be an illegal migrant

Why this shift?

• Concerns of illegal migration (especially from Bangladesh).

• 2003 amendment → identified “illegal migrant” category → excluded them and progeny from citizenship.

Controversy

• Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 introduced religious criteria for certain illegal migrants → major political debate.

 Citizenship Governance in Practice

• Decisions often made by lowest bureaucracy:

  • Border police

  • Village clerks

  • Local registration officials

  • Primary school teachers (often field-level staff for roll revision)

Democratic Paradox

The state derives legitimacy from the people,
yet the state decides who “the people” are.

Assam NRC: A Case Study

• NRC updated uniquely under Assam Accord (1985) → Section 6A introduced.

• Multiple cut-offs for different categories of residents.

2019 Draft NRC Result

• 19 lakh out of 3.29 crore marked D (Doubtful citizens).

Problems

• Document burden extremely high (decades-old records).

• BJP rejected draft → too many Hindus excluded.

• Consequences for those marked D:

  • Voting rights suspended

  • Referred to Foreigners Tribunals

  • Risk of detention/deportation

Assam NRC demonstrates:

• How administrative scrutiny can disenfranchise millions.

• How “citizenship” becomes a tool of politics and state power.

The Democracy–Citizenship Paradox

Core Paradox

• Democracy → rule by the people

• But modern state → decides who the people are

Implications

• Citizenship becomes:

  • A political act

  • A bureaucratic judgment

  • A legal and documentary burden

• Leads to:

  • Anxiety among residents

  • Risk of arbitrary exclusion

  • Tension between state power and people’s sovereignty

Way Forward 

• Clear legal framework for citizenship documentation.

• Harmonisation between ECI, MHA & States.

• Avoid mass-scale verification without legal authority.

• Independent review bodies for citizenship disputes.

• Ensure procedural fairness & reduce discretion of field-level bureaucracy.

• Transparency and accountability in NPR/NRC processes.

• Protect democratic inclusion—no arbitrary disenfranchisement.

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