Ethno-Nationalism and Citizenship: A Critical Analysis of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

Abstract

This paper critically examines the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) in the context of India's evolving citizenship regime, highlighting its ideological, legal, and exclusionary realities. By situating the CAA within India’s historical trajectory of citizenship laws, the paper identifies a continuity in the exclusionary practices rooted in policies during partition of India, where religion played a decisive role in laying a foundation of difference between ‘refugee’ and ‘migrant’. Through a detailed analysis of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and its nexus with the CAA, the paper underscores how India’s policies of denationalisation reflect a broader Hindutva-driven agenda that privileges a majoritarian narrative. The CAA-NRC framework employs the language of international law and domestic legal mechanisms to systematically exclude Muslims, while presenting India as a liberal state promoting humanitarianism. This paradox is explored through Mohammad Shahabuddin’s work, which deconstructs the postcolonial state's instrumentalisation of international law to advance exclusionary and majoritarian policies. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need to move beyond state-centric and neoliberal frameworks to address the plight of minorities in postcolonial states.

Keywords: Ethno-Nationalism, Citizenship, Post-coloniality, Minorities