Answer:

The most basic, prevalent meaning of Citizenship is a certain sort of membership in a political community. While the nature and scope of political communities have ranged from city-state to empire, citizenship has always been associated with political relations. In the current era, sovereign states decide who would be their citizens based on certain parameters such as birth, naturalization, residence etc.

Most common characteristics of citizenship include equal legal status, political voice and participation, the freedom to enter and exit one's home country and notions of identity, belonging and a sense of home for every citizen. States’ domestic laws decide on the associated rights and obligations of their citizens. For example, right to equality in public employment (Article 16) and right to freedom of expression (Article 19) in India are enjoyed only by the citizens of India. Similarly, Article 51A lists the duties of a citizen towards the state. In this context, it has been said that citizenship brings an inherent right to have rights. Rights and obligations exist to ensure effective functioning of the state and welfare of its citizens.

On the other hand, a denial of citizenship deprives a person’s right to demand other rights necessary for meaningful life. For e.g. refugees in a country as observed in case of Rohingyas. Since they have become stateless, there is no state protection for their other rights. Loss of citizenship also rules out hopes of any future emancipation of these people.

But, there are certain rights which all persons are entitled to by virtue of being human

i.e. human rights. These rights transcend a person’s citizenship in a territory. For example, right to life under Article 21 extends even to non-citizens. Thus, there are natural rights which do not depend on affiliation of a state.

Also, globalization is changing the long standing idea that citizenship’s necessary context is the sovereign territorial state. The state’s right to determine who is accepted as a member is being questioned. Such debates contest that citizenship can be exercised in a multiplicity of ‘sites’ both below (regional levels) and above (cosmopolitan) the nation-state. Notwithstanding the evolving concept of citizenship, inability of stateless people to enjoy their rights is well established. Further, it is for the protection of rights of all people - whether stateless or migrants – that the citizenship debate continues.