people – have rarely reflected the country’s obligations under international law. This is a severe limitation. International law is relevant to these debates as it brings clarity on norm and policy. It is a window to the wisdom that the global community has accumulated across time and space. It brings to focus what rule of law demands of India. FRAMING Securing Citizenship seeks to highlight India’s obligations under international law in relation to citizenship. The report notes the country’s obligations towards two different categories of persons. The first category is that of stateless persons in the territory of India. Under the 1954 Convention, stateless persons are those who are ‘not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law’.9 This definition has gained the status of customary international law. The second category – that the report calls ‘precarious citizens’ – are those Indian nationals who face the threat of arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Their condition is vulnerable and their citizenship insecure since they are facing the risk of statelessness. Precariousness indicates that their situation is marked by uncertainty, danger and contingency.10 This precariousness may be the result of the legally instituted citizenship determination procedures that are not fully transparent or respect due process. These procedures may either fail to properly appreciate evidence of nationality, or place unduly burdensome evidentiary requirements. Precarious citizens consequently face threat of detention, deportation and erosion of their fundamental rights. 9 1954 Convention art 1. 10 M. Mohsin Alam Bhat, ‘Twilight Citizenship’ (2020) 729 Seminar <https://www.india-seminar. com/2020/729/729_m_mohsin_alam_bhat.htm> accessed 5 August 2020.  introduction 31