Manipur Groups Push for NRC Update Before Census Completion

Imphal: Fourteen Manipur civil society groups want the Centre to update the National Register of Citizens in the state before finishing the 2027 Census. A delegation met with Registrar General Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and Home Ministry officials in New Delhi this month to demand the process. They argue that illegal migration from Myanmar has wrecked the state demographic profile. They want the final census figures held back until the NRC is finished.

These groups warned the government not to touch parliamentary and assembly delimitation until the register update is done. They pointed to previous resolutions from the Manipur Legislative Assembly and a January 2023 government request to implement the NRC. The groups are worried that inaccurate data in hill districts could skew future political representation. One demand is that the Centre should either notify the NRC update before the census wraps up or run both projects at the same time.

Ethnic tensions have spiked since May 2023. Many Meitei organizations now claim that unchecked border crossings fueled the violence. Kuki-Zo groups reject this narrative, insisting the conflict stems from constitutional and political friction. The delegation requested the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes to speed up its work, stating, "The delegation argued that decades of cross-border migration from Myanmar have significantly altered Manipur's demographic profile." They also want a seat on that committee for the proposed Manipur Population Commission.