![handle is hein.journals/tranhurrv8 and id is 1 raw text is: Chakrabarty: Citizenship Deprivation as an Act of Persecution: Case Study of t
Citizenship Deprivation as an Act of Persecution: Case Study of the Assam Citizen
Exercise As A Precursor to A Nation-Wide Determination of Citizenship
By Ishita Chakrabarty*
Abstract
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.
I Introduction
In December 2019, the Indian Government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019,
on the pretext of providing citizenship to those fleeing religious persecution. Although the
preamble of the Amendment Act contains no mention of persecution,1 the Statement of
Objects and Reasons as it stood in the Bill at the time of introduction2 and the Union
government's own affidavit before the Supreme Court of India (SC)3 claim that the Act serves a
humanitarian purpose of providing relief to those who are forced to seek shelter in India due to
persecution on grounds of religion.4
* Research Officer at Quill Foundation, New Delhi, India, E-mail: ishita.chakrabarty24@gmail.com
1 Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, No. 47 of 2019, an Act further to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, online:
The Gazette of India <htt ://eeazette.nic.in/Writeleadlata/2019/214646.pdf> [CAA, 2019].
2 Lok Sabha, Synopsis of Debates (2019), online (pdf):
<hrty:/foksabhadncs niin/Synop/17112Suny±Suvp±Svn4)-09-2-2019.d>.
3 Indian Union of Muslim League v Union of India (2019), Supreme Court of India, Counter Affidavit of the Union
of India, Writ Petition (C) No. 1470 of 2019, online: <https://scobserver-
productionas3amazonawscon/uploads/easy document/do umenr unload/i191/Counter Affidavit filed by Union
pdf>.
a The Amendment Bill was originally introduced in the Parliament in 2015.
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