India, Jan. 17 -- The concept of citizenship comprises three broad dimensions. It can be summed up as citizenship as legal status, citizenship as a bundle of rights and entitlements, and citizenship as a sense of identity and belonging. Relations between the three dimensions are complex: the rights a citizen enjoys will partly define the range of available political activities while explaining how citizenship can be a source of identity by strengthening her sense of self-respect. In the country these days, the debate delineating the nuances of the Citizenship Amendment Act is rife, both in its favour and against.
The formulation of citizenship (the liberal framework) has been historically condemned for not taking into account the "differen...