Illegal Migration and Issues of Citizenship in India: A Critical Review

Abstract

The citizenship is a subject of entry 17 of Union List of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and the Govt. of India has amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 in a number of occasions to address the issue relaxing the norms. Migrating population from one country to another is a global problem. Not only India but some developed countries like United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada are facing the heat of migration particularly from Asian countries. In India, the situation is really grim. Ever since the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, there has been continuous influx of Bangladeshis into India from our Eastern Border while More than 80,000 refugees from West Pakistan, largely Hindus, have been living in Kashmir since Independence without citizenship rights. This paper aims to study the different issues in connection with illegal immigration and scope of citizenship.