Article 6 of the Indian Constitution:

Article 6 of the Indian Constitution tells us about the rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan.

According to Article 6:

Regardless of what is stated in article 5, a person who has migrated to India’s territory from Pakistan’s territory will be considered an Indian citizen at the time of the Constitution’s adoption if:

• If a person migrated from Pakistan to India before July 19, 1948, he or she is regarded an Indian citizen if one or both of his parents or grandparents were born in India as defined by the Government of India Act, 1935, and has lived or stayed in India since the date of migration.
• People who moved after July 19, 1948, must be registered as citizens of India by a Government of India officer. To be eligible for registration, the subject person must have lived in India for at least six months prior to the date of his application.

Article 6 of the Indian Constitution explained:

On the 10th, 11th, and 12th of August 1949, the drafted Article 5A (Article 6) was considered. It was kept out of the 1948 Draft Constitution.

This article established citizenship principles for those who moved from Pakistan to India during the partition.

History of Article 6 of the Indian Constitution:

Some members proposed to add ‘on account of Civil disturbance or the fear of such disturbances in the first clause. It was argued that the inclusion of this phrase would articulate and make explicit the real intention behind this provision which was to facilitate migration from Pakistan in the wake of civil disturbance or fear of it.

Another member sought to make it mandatory to submit proof of the right of descent and intent to live in India permanently. He stated that Indian citizenship should be considered as a tremendous privilege rather than a cheap or simple process.

Members of the Drafting Committee reminded the Assembly that the purpose of this article was to create basic principles of citizenship rather than a “code of nationality law.” One member went on to argue that, in comparison to the Indian constitution, no other constitution has attempted to address numerous areas of nationality law in such a comprehensive way.

Some members willingly withdrew their amendments at the conclusion of the discussion, while others were rejected. On August 12, 1949, the Assembly passed Draft Article 5A.