Citizenship Deprivation as an Act of Persecution: Case Study of the Assam Citizen Exercise As A Precursor to A Nation-Wide Determination of Citizenship

This essay explores the reasons behind describing India’s Citizenship practices (now modified through the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019) as ‘persecutory’. In doing so, the essay refers to the international law on citizenship conferment and withdrawal that has traditionally been viewed as exclusive to a state’s sovereign domain. The essay also looks into the socio-political dynamics, past persecutory conduct exemplified by the Assam-NRC exercise and the lack of protection afforded by those entrusted with the legal duty of conferring and withdrawing citizenship. The essay further uses the Assam-NRC exercise as a case study to claim that there exist well-founded grounds for believing that a subsequent action of this nature will involve real risks for the country’s 200 million Muslim population