Securitization, Belonging and Citizenship Revocation in India

Atreyo Banerjee examines the statutory and judicial frameworks that underpin the termination and deprivation of citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955. By meticulously tracing the historical debates from Partition to the present day, the article unravels the ways in which executive supremacy and overlapping legislative regimes create a labyrinth of discretionary power, often at the expense of procedural fairness. With a keen eye on both archival records and recent judicial pronouncements, Banerjee illustrates how narratives of existential threat and the drive for national security have been mobilized to justify the exclusion of marginalised groups and to circumvent robust judicial oversight. The study not only exposes the legal ambiguities—such as the contested notion of ‘voluntary’ foreign citizenship acquisition—but also calls for a fundamental reimagining of India’s citizenship regime to restore accountability and uphold democratic values.

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