30 was the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (‘1954 Convention’). It sought to ‘regulate and improve the status of stateless persons’ by guaranteeing a minimum set of rights such as the right to identity, travel documents, education, housing, and employment, among others.4 It also established the right against expulsion. The Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (‘1961 Convention’) developed this framework with the aim to prevent and reduce statelessness over time.5 It aimed to ensure the right of every person to a nationality. Hansa Mehta, the Indian representative at the UDHR drafting sessions, termed Article 15 as ‘the fundamental right’.6 The Indian Constitution – a document deeply engrained in human rights and liberties – mandates respect for international law.7 Despite this, the Indian state has not adequately appreciated the right to nationality, and the broader discourse of international law on citizenship. India is not a signatory to the two statelessness conventions and has not actively participated in transnational efforts to combat statelessness.8 There is no domestic legal framework on the issue. Indian law bundles all non-nationals in the category of ‘foreigners’. This is detrimental to protecting the rights of different categories of people like refugees and the stateless. This does not fully appreciate the needs and rights of different classes of people who are subsumed within a single category. Moreover, the contemporary debates on citizenship – that may end up having a bearing on the status of millions of 4 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (adopted 28 September 1954, entered into force 6 June 1960) 360 UNTS 117 (1954 Convention), Preamble. 5 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (adopted 30 August 1961, entered into force 13 December 1975) 989 UNTS 175 (1961 Convention). 6 Morsink (n 1) 81. 7 Constitution of India 1950, art 51. 8 Several civil society organisations and activists along with the UNHCR are leading efforts to combat statelessness. The UNHCR, as the UN mandate holder, is running the #IBelong campaign and the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024. Several states, international and regional organisations, and civil society organisations pledged concrete measures to combat statelessness in the High-Level Segment on Statelessness. India did not participate in the summit. See UNHCR ‘Every person has the right to say #IBelong’ (UNHCR) <https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/> accessed 24 July 2020; UNHCR ‘Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-2024’ <https://www.unhcr.org/protection/ statelessness/54621bf49/global-action-plan-end-statelessness-2014-2024.html> accessed 24 July 2020; UNHCR ‘Results of the High-Level Segment on Statelessness’ (UNHCR) <https://www.unhcr. org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-level-segment-on-statelessness/> accessed 24 July 2020. SECURING CITIZENSHIP