By: Dale Luis Menezes [Dale Luis Menezes teaches history at the Global Studies University, Sharjah.] Published in: *The Wire* Date: February 5, 2026 Source: https://thewire.in/rights/dual-citizenship-the-overdue-mother-of-all-deals If cheaper olive oil, wine, and BMWs are the headline achievements, then the real deal – the one that actually shapes Indian lives – remains unspoken.
The recent India-EU deal has been dubbed <https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-and-eu-conclude-talks-on-mother-of-all-deals-ending-negotiations-that-started-in-2007/article70556539.ece> “the mother of all deals”. Made on the sidelines of India’s Republic Day celebrations, the deal was welcomed across the political divide in India and Europe. But if cheaper olive oil, wine, and BMWs are the headline achievements, then the real deal – the one that actually shapes Indian lives – remains unspoken. That deal is dual citizenship for Indians. Citizenship, too, entered the conversation along with the India-EU trade deal because António Costa, the Goan-origin head of the European Union and former Prime Minister of Portugal, was seen as the counterweight against the arm-twisting of Donald Trump’s tariffs. As he had done previously when he visited India as Prime Minister of Portugal <https://daleluismenezes.blogspot.com/2017/01/homecoming-and-belonging-antonio-costa.html>, António Costa flashed his Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card. This recognition of Costa’s Goan and Indian heritage is not surprising in the least. Costa has been known to flaunt his OCI card to facilitate better relations between India and Portugal, and now, as head of the European Union, between India and Europe. The fact that Costa’s origins became a diplomatic resource should give all Indians pause. The OCI card is not citizenship per se, but simply a long-term, effectively permanent visa given at the express pleasure of the Government of India. Hence, Costa is allowed to return home as many times as he wants, but he is not exactly a citizen of India. The Government of India retains the sovereign right to revoke the OCI. The Government of India has exercised this power on several occasions, especially against those it views as dissidents. Goans, particularly, have been very sensitive <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Not-Going-Merely-Coming/articleshow/49636203.cms> about the fact that OCI is not citizenship but simply a visa. In fact, they have been demanding dual citizenship as their connection with their ancestral land, property, culture, and family is forcefully taken away by the Indian citizenship regime. In the last two decades or little over it, many Goans have reclaimed Portuguese citizenship and left for better prospects – better jobs in the United Kingdom and now increasingly in other parts of Europe. In order to take up Portuguese citizenship for better mobility, socially as well as internationally, Goans must surrender their Indian citizenship. This legal requirement is rather unfortunate. In 1975, after relations between India and Portugal normalised, Portugal recognised the right of Goans to retain Portuguese citizenship because, before 1961, before the annexation of Goa by the Indian army, Goans were citizens of Portugal by birth. India, too, agreed with Portugal. The Portuguese state never extinguished that right, even though sovereignty over Goa had transferred to India. Costa is simply returning the favour. To get Portuguese citizenship is no easy task. Goans, and other residents of the former Portuguese India (Daman and Diu), must prove that their ancestors, either parents or grandparents, were born in Portuguese India. In other words, they have to prove that their ancestors were, by birth, Portuguese citizens. Thus, if one goes to the historical archives in Goa, where most of the birth and other records are preserved, you see anxious people waiting to find out if birth certificates or baptism records of their parents or grandparents are available. They are helped by certain ‘agents’ who have a rudimentary knowledge of Portuguese. The other people there are land sharks and real estate agents who want to cash in on the land market, but that is a story for another day. In 2023, I was a regular visitor to the archives, not because I wanted Portuguese citizenship or to buy land but because, as a historian, I was looking for traces of rice and cultivation in early modern Goa. It was over these months that I spent in the archives that I befriended several agents who would help these anxious people find birth records. One of these agents told me something very interesting, something that I had always intuitively known. I asked this man how many Hindus also take up Portuguese citizenship. The man leaned in and said that nearly half, if not more than half, of his clients were Hindus. It is a common stereotype that Catholics, branded ‘anti-national’, take up Portuguese passports and desert their motherland. I knew many Goan Muslims had also taken up Portuguese passports, but then again, that was only stereotypically expected of them. But Hindus? That revelation was still shocking. A few days after this conversation, I overheard a Hindu man talking to another agent about the abysmal job situation in Goa. He belonged to the Bahujan Samaj, as was clear from the name he told the agent. This man, a mechanic working for the Goan government, was complaining about not making enough money and not being able to provide for his wife and children. As he spoke, I could see dark clouds of frustration darkening his face. “I should also get a Portuguese passport and earn more,” he said casually. Stereotypes collapse instantly when confronted with the economic realities of jobs and joblessness. The situation in Goa is hardly unique, though the legal circumstances are. In states like Gujarat, Punjab, and Kerala, the number of Indian citizens giving up their citizenship is a lot higher. Goans can legally be Portuguese; Gujaratis and Punjabis cannot – unless they fake their papers. The other option for Indians is to go via the *dunki *route <https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgkj2yw122o> and risk their lives. Or get deported in shackles with the blessings of Trump. Yet, in the last five years <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/nearly-9-lakh-indians-gave-up-citizenship-in-five-years-mea-tells-parliament/articleshow/125926945.cms?from=mdr>, more than 900,000 Indian citizens have given up their citizenship, and the number will grow. For many Indians, across class and caste, the quality of life has measurably deteriorated. The numbers of the AQI do not lie and they affect the rich and poor. While the rich will legally abandon the country for cleaner air and a better quality of life, the poor will escape, even by treacherous illegal routes from India, because they want better jobs and better futures for their children. In such a situation, it makes sense for all citizens of India to demand dual citizenship. It makes sense for the Indian Government to open routes for dual citizenship. India needs to follow the path shown by one of Goa’s most well-known sons, António Costa. There are more Antónios waiting to return home – or invest in its economy. Dual citizenship is the mother of all deals that is long overdue. *Dale Luis Menezes teaches history at the Global Studies University, Sharjah*.
