I would like to make a comment on the following excerpt from a post elsewhere:
It is my understanding (i.e., based on my porous memory) that when it became apparent that certain Indians in Hong Kong could become stateless after 1997, the Indian government told the British government it would consider giving them Indian citizenship. (This is based on my recollection of a conversation in 1998 with a British diplomat.) As the Indian parliament was caught up in a very pressing debate over which city to rename next (I am not making this up, I swear) the issue got pushed farther and father back down the agenda, and the British eventually decided to grant them full British citizenship, with Right of Abode in the UK. When HMG told India about their decision the Indian government was incensed and there was a huge brouhaha about the poor chaps actually being Indian, and that had it all worked out with the Chinese that this was the way to go. So the FCO paused. When it became apparent that no such thing had been worked out with the CCP, the FCO rushed through some Parliamentary Committee or other the OK You Indians Can Be British After All Act Sure There’s Not That Many of You Anyway and a Few More Indians in the UK Will Hardly Do Any Harm Act 1997 . That’s the story I was told anyway.