Citizenship: Foreigner Until Proven Otherwise? | Dr Niraja Jayal on NRC, SIR & CAA

Are Indians slowly being asked to prove they belong in their own country? Political scientist and citizenship scholar Dr Niraja Jayal delivers a powerful address on how India's founding idea of citizenship — a presumption that you belong — is being replaced by what she calls a "presumption of alienage": the assumption that a person is a foreigner until proven otherwise. In this speech, Dr Niraja Jayal discusses: The shift from jus soli (citizenship by birth) to conditional citizenship The Citizenship Act amendments of 2003 and 2019 How the NRC, SIR, CAA and the passport controversy connect The burden of proof: state versus individual The Foreigners Act of 1946 and its colonial legacy Citizenship, welfare access and voting rights What a reconstruction of equal citizenship could look like This address was delivered at the Constitutional Conduct Group conclave on 'One Nation-One Election, Federalism and Citizenship' at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, on 4 July 2026. For more public interest stories like this, you can join our WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaXE... #Citizenship #CitizenshipProof #SIR #NRC #Shorts ------------------------------------------------- Support independent journalism and help us report stories that hold power accountable. Truth Brigade → https://theprobe.in/truth-brigade Become a Member → https://theprobe.in/become-a-member -------------------------------- Connect with The Probe: www.theprobe.in Facebook:   / theprobeindia   Twitter:   / theprobeindia   Instagram:   / probeindia   LinkedIn:   / theprobe   The Probe's WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaXE...