Now I come to article 5C. Prof. K. T. Shah was probably thinking of the Indians in Malaya when he gave notice of the amendment that if the municipal law of any country did not require that a man should renounce the citizenship of the country to which his ancestors belonged before acquiring the rights of citizenship in that country, there was no reason why our law should prevent him from claiming Indian citizenship. I have taken a great deal of interest in the position of the Indians residing abroad since we got a copy of the Draft Constitution. It has been my endeavour since then to enable Indians living abroad living at least in certain places, to be regarded as Indian citizens without fulfilling difficult conditions. I can say with perfect confidence that article 5 C has been so drafted as to take into account the rights of the people whom probably Prof. K. T. Shah had in mind when he sent in the amendment that I have just referred to. Obviously we cannot allow a man whose ancestors settled down in another country two hundred years ago, to be still regarded as an Indian citizen. There must be some limit to the time during which the descendants of people who were Indians could be regarded as Indians even though they were living outside India. Article 5 C lays down that “any person who, or either of whose parents or any of whose grand parents, was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935, as originally enacted, and who is ordinarily residing in any territory outside India as so defined, shall be deemed to be a citizen of India” if he has fulfilled certain conditions. Now, the condition laid down is that he should get himself registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or Consular representative of India in the country where he is living. It thus seems to me that article 5C takes full account of the just rights of Indians living not merely in Malaya, but also in other countries where some doubt has been cast on the position of Indians who have been resident there for a long time. If there are among them any persons who still regard themselves as Indian citizens, they will have an opportunity of claiming Indian citizenship under article 5C. If anyone does not take advantage of the provisions of article 5C to get himself registered as an Indian citizen, then that ought to be a proof in the eyes of the authorities of the country where he is living that he is not an Indian citizen but a citizen of the country of his adoption.
