Ask the Constitution → Your rights, by who you are
This is the page almost nobody explains honestly. An NRI is an Indian citizen living abroad and keeps every constitutional right of a citizen. An OCI cardholder is a foreign citizen, and the Constitution treats you as one: some rights say 'any person' and include you, others say 'citizen' and do not.
Descriptive, not legal advice · text as amended through the 106th Amendment (2023)
Why OCI exists at all: the Constitution does not permit dual citizenship. Voluntarily acquiring a foreign citizenship ends Indian citizenship. The OCI card is a statutory status under the Citizenship Act, 1955, not a constitutional one.
Equality before the law is guaranteed to any person within India. As an OCI, this includes you.
Protection in criminal matters (no retrospective punishment, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination) applies to any person. Includes you.
Life and personal liberty are protected for any person, not just citizens. The Supreme Court has enforced this for foreigners in India.
Arrest protections apply to any person, with the article's own exceptions for enemy aliens and preventive detention.
Freedom of religion belongs to all persons in India, including you.
The line that surprises people: 19's freedoms of speech, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession belong to citizens only. As an OCI you cannot claim them as fundamental rights. As an NRI, you can.
Also citizens only: the protection against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. Same for Article 16 (public employment) and Articles 29 and 30 (minority rights).
Property: no person shall be deprived of property save by authority of law. This protects OCIs too, though what property you may acquire (agricultural land, for instance) is governed by statute, not the Constitution.