Govt defers Census 2027 in Manipur amid protests, demand for NRC

The Union government on Monday deferred the 2027 census in Manipur amid mounting violence and demands by large chunks of the population to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before conducting the population enumeration exercise.

The development came a day before the house-listing of the census exercise was scheduled to begin in the strife-torn state, where nearly 300 have died since May 2023.

The decision came after Union home minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level review meeting in New Delhi to “assess the current situation” in Manipur, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office.

“The meeting held at the ministry of home affairs was attended by the governor of Manipur, Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, chief minister Shri Yumnam Khemchand Singh, home secretary Shri Govind Mohan, along with other senior officials. The meeting discussed in detail the demand raised by the people of Manipur to defer the Census exercise in the State before the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The meeting agreed to defer the proposed census exercise in the state considering the feelings and aspirations of the people of Manipur,” the statement said.

The census exercise has been disrupted by violence in the past, such as in Assam in 1981 and Jammu and Kashmir in 1991, but this is the first time that the 2027 exercise has been disrupted.

The first phase of Census 2027 (house listing) in Manipur was scheduled from September 1 to 30. The self-enumeration facility was set to be available from August 17 to 31. Amid protests and training of census workers being disrupted by locals, self-enumeration for house listing was also not started.

The decision came on a day the Manipur high court directed that the house-listing exercise be withheld, pending further notification from the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, amid petitions seeking implementation of NRC before the census.

Since August 16, Manipur has been roiled by protests by Naga and Meitei organisations that demanded an NRC before the census. The Kuki-Zo communities are opposed to the move.

Meitei and Naga communities say that a census without NRC could result in “demographic changes” in the state due to the entry of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Myanmar. The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), a Kuki-Zo apex body, has opposed the demand for implementation of the NRC before the Census, saying that the step is “premature and unjustified”.

The KZC also cited the experience of Assam, where the NRC conducted pursuant to the Assam Accord of 1985 excluded around 1.9 million people from the final list and remained caught in legal challenges and appeals before Foreigners Tribunals.

Since the protest intensified in Manipur, the Campaign for Just Fair and Delimitation (JFD) has been spearheading the anti-census agitation. During the protest, the JFD’s student wing locked down the Directorate of Census Operations, Manipur. Torch rallies have been organised in several parts of the state, particularly in the valley.

JFD convener Jeetendra Ningomba said, “We will continue with the 24-hour total shutdown from Monday midnight unless the postponement is notified in the government gazette...”

Kuki-Zo Council president Henlianthang Thanglet said: “We will issue a statement on two issues... allegations against Kuki-Zo leaders made by Naga MLAs in their letter... and the second concerns the deferral of the Census.”