‘Untrustworthy and Unbelievable’ the way in which history continues to influence claims and contestations around citizenship to this date. A India and the Construction of the Citizen The notion of the ‘outsider’ in India was laid down during the colonial era, ie, in 1946 by virtue of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (‘Foreigners Act’).”” Section 2(a) of the Foreigners Act defines a foreigner as a person who is not an Indian citizen.78 The Act empowers the government to inquire into the nationality of any person.” The Constitution of India provides guidelines for citizenship only relevant to the era of the Partition in 1947—1950 and leaves it to the state to formulate further rules.8° To this end, in 1955, the government enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955 (‘Citizenship Act’) to provide for the distinct modes of acquisition and termination of citizenship. The various modes of acquisition of citizenship are described in ss 3—7 where it mentions that citizenship can be obtained “by birth’®!, ‘by descent’ ®?, ‘by registration’ ®?, “by naturalisation’ ** and ‘by incorporation of a territory’ ®>. An amendment introduced in 2003 provided that if one of the parents of a person born in India after 2003 is an illegal immigrant, then that person would not be able to acquire citizenship through birth.8° The amendment inserted a definition of ‘illegal migrant’ under s 2(b) as a ‘foreigner who has come to India devoid of necessary travel documentation or passport as required by the authorities concerned’ .8” The Citizenship Act provides for deprivation of citizenship as well. Citizenship can only be stripped away in very specific cases, for instance, if it has been obtained by fraud, or if there is proven disloyalty towards the state.88 Here it is important to note that in the international framework, countries can denaturalise and deport nationals under specific contexts.°? The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness prohibits deprivation of citizenship if it renders one stateless, but allows it in certain circumstances.”? These are extremely narrow grounds, and are exercised sparsely, given that depriving citizens of citizenship is a discriminatory practice that creates a category of second-class citizens.?! The exercise of this legislation becomes crucial to understanding the current crisis of citizenship in Assam. 77 — Foreigners Act, 1946, Act No 31 of 1946 (India) (Foreigners Act, 1946). 78 ibid s 2(a). 83 84 85 ibids 5. ibid s 6. ibid s 7. 7) 80 81 82 ibid s 8. Constitution of India 1950 art 11. Citizenship Act, 1955, Act No 57 of 1955 (India) s 3 (‘Indian Citizenship Act’). ibid s 4. 86 87 Citizenship Amendment Act 1986, Act No 51 of 1986 (India) . Indian Citizenship Act (n 81) s 2(b). 89 20 —Weissbrodt Convention UNTS 185 Weissbrodt 88 °1 ibid s 10. and Collins (n 71) on the Reduction (entered into force and Collins (n 71) 260-61. of Statelessness, opened for signature 30 August 13 December 1975) art 8. 260-61. 245 1961, 989