With a diaspora comprising 16 million, time ripe for dual citizenship
Dual citizenship is something that bothers Goa more than any other state in the Union. And that is because many residents of the State have got their births registered in Portugal with the hope of paving the way for their children to get Portuguese passports. Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik is not the only one worried that 26,000 names have been deleted from the electoral rolls and another 66,000 are likely to follow if the issue of dual citizenship is not sorted out. This is not a small number and if one goes by the general assumption that a number of these people belong to the minority community then it is the Congress which needs to be more concerned. The Minister of State for Home Kiran Raijuju, who was in the State, has informed that the report of a committee which studied the issue is ready and will be submitted to the government shortly.
India does not recognize dual citizenship, and Section 9(1) of the Citizenship act 1955 provides that any citizen of India who by naturalisation or registration acquires the citizenship of another country shall cease to be a citizen of India. The issue of dual citizenship was discussed when Atal Behari Vajpayee was prime minister and rejected. Instead, the government offered Overseas Citizen of India status, under which a person of Indian origin would enjoy practically all the benefits of an Indian citizen, except that he or she would not be permitted to stand for elections, vote in an election or hold a government job.
Unlike Indians who migrate abroad, eventually acquire citizenship of the host country and continue to live there, Goans who have got their births registered in Portugal are doing it only to open a door for their children to enter the European Union. The benefit extended to Goans born prior to December 19, 1961 by the Portuguese government is being used to create better opportunities for their children and not for themselves. Hence, their case is different from NRIs who continue to live in the host country.
The case of Goans getting their births registered in Portugal is unique, but complicated. The challenge before New Delhi is how to recognise this without actually granting dual citizenship. In the general course the moment the citizenship of another country is acquired the person has to choose. In Goa, many people declare their intention to keep Portuguese citizenship, while many continue to live under the radar as dual citizens because the Portuguese government does not release names of people who have acquired citizenship of that country.
The question is, should Goans be granted special treatment in this regard? The answer is, why not? Why only Goans? Why can’t the country recognise dual citizenship? Indians, over the ages, have migrated to almost every country in the world and there are many reasons why the diaspora, which is 16 million strong, might prefer to hold dual citizenship of the country of their origin. This facility can easily be granted to the diaspora. If Sonia Gandhi can legally become the prime minister of India why can’t we grant a little leeway to people of India origin as far as voting and holding government jobs is concerned? After all they are our people. And in the case of Goans, they continue to live here and participate in national building. Dual citizenship is a concept whose time has arrived.
