Sifting, Selecting, Relocating: Citizenship at the commencement of Republic

Abstract

The date of the enforcement of the Constitution, 26th January 1950, marked a crucial change in the legal status of the people of India.  They were no longer British subjects, but citizens of the Republic of India and derived their status as such from the Constitution, which they in their collective capacity as the people of India enacted, adopted and gave to themselves.