Amid NRC demands, Manipur awaits Centre's call on stalled Census

The Census exercise in Manipur remains in limbo, with the State awaiting a decision from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the next course of action. Several Meitei and Naga civil society groups have demanded that a National Register of Citizens (NRC) be compiled before the Census proceeds. A review of the situation is likely in the coming days, a government source said.

The first phase of the Population Census 2027, the House Listing and Housing Census (HLO), is scheduled to be held in Manipur from September 1 to September 30. However, training of enumerators, mostly government school teachers, has been halted due to opposition and protests by various civil society groups. Enumerators are required to visit households door-to-door and record details in a specific app on their personal phones.

The self-enumeration portal, which allows respondents to enter their details independently, was scheduled to go live on August 17 but is yet to become operational. “A decision from the MHA is awaited. The RGI office will assess the situation and there will be some clarity soon,” a State government official said.

Meanwhile, a PIL filed by the Kangleipak Students Association (KSA) led the High Court of Manipur to constitute a Special Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M. Sundar and Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma. The Bench will hear the matter on August 25 at 2 p.m., according to a court notification issued on Monday.

The Census is not an exercise to determine citizenship; it counts all individuals irrespective of nationality. However, there is anxiety among a section of people in Manipur that the next delimitation exercise, which will redraw the boundaries of electoral constituencies, may use the latest Census data in a manner that could disadvantage the Meiteis and small tribal communities. Manipur has three major communities: the Meiteis, the Nagas, and the Kuki-Zo people.

At least 14 civil society groups representing Meiteis, Pangals (Meitei Muslims), and the Kom and Rongmei tribes, among others, are in Delhi to seek an audience with the Union government. The group includes representation from those displaced by the ethnic violence between the Kuki and Meitei communities that began on May 3, 2023. They met officials of the MHA, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, and BJP president Nitin Nabin.

Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who met Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week, said people are apprehensive that the “presence of illegal immigrants in the State has affected demographic imbalance.” He clarified that people are not against the Census but want the NRC first.

The Congress party on August 20 sought postponement of the Census exercise in Manipur, citing continuing violence and displacement of thousands of people.

However, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has taken a different stand. It said that to rebut the “falsehoods and propaganda surrounding our population and demographic status during the Manipur conflict, an impartial Census is essential to establish facts and dispel unfounded claims.” The KZC also welcomed delimitation to ensure fair representation based on verified demographic data. Regarding the NRC, the KZC said it is a national exercise and there is no provision for any community or State government to unilaterally initiate a separate NRC in a particular State at its own discretion.

The last Census in 2011 could not be carried out in at least 103 villages in Chhattisgarh and 260 villages in West Bengal due to violence associated with Left Wing Extremism (LWE), indicating that such disruptions have precedents.