Citizenship is the full and equal membership in a nation. It is the special status or recognition given by the country to an individual. The basis of citizenship is the relation between state and individual. Citizenship enables an individual to enjoy political rights and civil rights. The concept of citizenship gained importance with the emergence of democracy.

The participation of citizen in democratic administration is ensured through political rights. Only the citizens can enjoy political rights of a nation, the political rights of a citizen are the right to vote, the right to contest in election, the right to form associations, and the right to criticise the government.

As the state guarantees rights to a citizen, he has to fulfill certain duties towards the state also. A citizen gets his rights from the society. Hence he has certain responsibilities to the society. A citizen can enjoy his rights only if he discharges some duties to the state. As he enjoys his rights, he has a duty to respect the rights of others also. So rights and duties are the two sides of a same coin.