1. Framing the Intervention 18 The implications are constitutional and urgent. The rule of law is undermined when fundamental rights turn on inconsistent adjudication. Equality is compromised when evidentiary rules shift arbitrarily. Dignity is denied when ordinary individuals are made to defend their belonging with no clear understanding of what the law requires. For many, the consequences extend across generations, with children inheriting a legal limbo shaped by suspicion and exclusion. India’s Citizenship Act of 1955 originally granted citizenship, as a principle, to everyone born in the country.10 However, amendments in 1986 restricted this by requiring that at least one parent be an Indian citizen.11 The 2003 amendment went further, denying citizenship by birth to a child if even one parent was classified as an “illegal migrant”.12 These changes have created cascading consequences: children born in India after 2004 to parents marked as “foreigners” face a heightened risk of statelessness because their Indian citizenship is tied to their parents’ status. Thus, although it is often described as a mechanism to identify unauthorised immigrants, the structure of citizenship status determination has far broader implications. The risks faced by these individuals are further exacerbated by systemic legal and institutional failures. Indian law provides no constitutional or statutory guarantee against arbitrary deprivation of nationality, despite India’s obligations under international human rights law.13 Many of those affected have lived in India for decades, have deep familial and social ties, and participate in its economic and civic life.14 Even for those without documents, their genuine links with, and long-standing integration into Indian society challenge the assumption that they are unauthorised immigrants. Nonetheless, they remain vulnerable to indefinite detention, denial of rights, and deportation to countries with which they have no real connection.15 Article 15 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” Article 7(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.” Article 24(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.” Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.” Article 9(1) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: “States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality.”