There has been a persistent demand from the Indian community, especially in North America and some other advanced countries, for the grant of dual citizenship. Under the existing Indian legislation, namely, the Citizenship Act of 1955 and a number of judicial decisions - Indian citizenship is automatically forfeited when an Indian citizen acquires the passport of a foreign country.
PIOs however hold that they are often forced to acquire foreign passports for functional reasons and this does not imply renunciation of their loyalty to India. The Indian community strongly feels that the grant of dual citizenship will create considerable goodwill among PIOs and facilitate investments, trade, tourism, -and voluntary work and philanthropic contributions in India.
After having exhaustively studied the various representations and judicial and legal opinion, and having examined in great depth the security considerations involved, the Committee concluded that the grant of dual citizenship to certain members of the Indian Diaspora with appropriate safeguards would facilitate the contribution of the Diaspora to India's social, economic and technological transformation and national development.
The Committee recommended that dual citizenship should be permitted for members of the Indian Diaspora who satisfy the conditions and criteria laid down in the legislation to be enacted to amend the relevant sections of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The Committee made detailed recommendations in this regard, being deeply conscious of the heightened security concerns following the series of terrorist attacks, especially the attack on India's Parliament on December 13. The Committee therefore did not recommend automatic conferment of dual citizenship, which would have to be acquired by following the procedure laid down in the Parliamentary legislation and the rules framed under it.
{{/usCountry}}The Committee made detailed recommendations in this regard, being deeply conscious of the heightened security concerns following the series of terrorist attacks, especially the attack on India's Parliament on December 13. The Committee therefore did not recommend automatic conferment of dual citizenship, which would have to be acquired by following the procedure laid down in the Parliamentary legislation and the rules framed under it.
{{/usCountry}}The Committee was also of the view that electoral rights and the right to contest elections to elective bodies in India, particularly if those rights have to be exercised outside India
- need not be extended to those who acquire dual citizenship, who may also not be inducted into civil services or the defence or paramilitary forces except by a special order of the Central Government. Additional safeguards were recommended by the Committee.
Wherever necessary, suitable amendments could also be made in other legislation wherever greater disclosure was considered necessary to safeguard India's security concerns. The Committee however recommended that transparency in the rules and their enforcement had to be ensured.
Pravasi Bharatiya Bhavan
The Committee recommended establishing a "Pravasi Bharatiya Bhavan" to provide a venue for commemorating the history and achievements of the Indian Diaspora and to act as a focal point for various activities promoting stronger links between India and the Diaspora. The Bhavan would have a permanent exhibition and a well-stocked library on the Diaspora.
The future organisation that may be created by the Government of India to deal with matters relating to the Indian Diaspora could ideally be located in the Bhavan, which could be built at a prestigious site in Delhi. The Committee felt that a proposal of this kind would attract willing financial and other contributions from the Diaspora.