A delegation of 14 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Kangleipak (Manipur), led by Shanta Nahakpam, has urged the Central Government to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur before conducting the 2027 Census, asserting that the move is crucial to address the state’s demographic concerns.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India after a series of meetings with senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the delegation said their visit to New Delhi followed consultations with the Chief Minister of Manipur, the Governor, and the Union Home Minister.
The delegation met Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I) Shri Mahatma Sandeep Nandeo, who is also associated with the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, and Joint Secretary (North East) Niraj Kumar Bansod.
During the meetings, the CSOs reiterated their long-standing demand for updating the NRC based on the 1951 register before the 2027 Census is conducted in Manipur. They argued that identifying original Indian citizens and illegal immigrants is essential for resolving the ongoing crisis in the state.
The delegation also requested the Registrar General and Citizenship Registration (RGCR) under the MHA to notify the NRC (1951) update in Manipur before the Census of India 2027 and publish the notification in the Gazette of India. They further demanded that the final population data of the 2027 Census should remain withheld until the NRC updating process is completed and that no delimitation exercise should be carried out until then.
During discussions with the Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I), the delegation highlighted what it described as decades of cross-border influx from the Indo-Myanmar border and urged the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes to prioritize an in-depth study of demographic changes in Manipur. The CSOs claimed that illegal immigration has significantly altered the state’s demographic composition.
In its meeting with the Joint Secretary (North East), the delegation reminded the Centre that the Manipur Legislative Assembly had passed several resolutions seeking NRC implementation and that the state government had previously written to the Union Home Ministry requesting enforcement of the NRC in Manipur.
While welcoming the nationwide Census 2027, the CSOs expressed concern that conducting the exercise without first updating the NRC could adversely affect future delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies. They also referred to pending issues concerning past census data and delimitation in the state.
