NEW DELHI — In a major coordinated effort in the national capital, an influential conglomerate of 14 civil society organizations (CSOs) from Manipur has formally petitioned the Union Government to halt the national census operations in the state.
The delegation, which arrived in New Delhi on July 5, argues that launching a standard census under the state’s current conditions of severe internal displacement and institutional breakdown would institutionalize demographic discrepancies and distort future political representation.
1. Core Demands: NRC Implementation Over Census
The conglomerate presented a comprehensive memorandum to top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), including the Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan. The delegation’s primary structural demands include:
-
NRC First, Census Later: Complete the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update in Manipur to clearly distinguish original Indian citizens from illegal immigrants before conducting any census activities.
-
1951 Base Year: The NRC update must strictly use 1951 as the base year to rectify historical, cross-border population spikes.
-
Withholding 2027 Census Data: If census operations proceed, the final data for Manipur should be legally classified as “withheld.”
-
Freeze on Delimitation: A total freeze must be enforced on any assembly or parliamentary delimitation processes until the completion of the 1951-based NRC exercise.
2. Demographic Influx and the Security Crisis
The delegation presented detailed reports indicating that unregulated cross-border migration across the porous Indo-Myanmar border over the last 70 years is the structural root cause of the current ethnic violence in the state.
“We strongly believe that the present conflict in Manipur is because of illegal immigrants who claim to be Indian citizens and have taken over the original Manipuri inhabitants through illegal immigration, thereby having a significant impact on demographic changes in the state. These population shifts have fueled deep institutional anxieties, causing various communities to start demanding separate administration or greater autonomy.” — Manipur CSO Joint Delegation Statement
The memorandum also noted that numerous cross-border tribes have entered India and taken advantage of various Scheduled Tribes lists under the Scheduled Tribes Order of 1950, causing “alarming” population spikes across several border districts.
3. History of Disputed Data and Stalled Delimitation
The CSOs clarified that they do not oppose the census as a national development tool, but explained that public resistance stems from its direct connection to political boundaries. The state’s delimitation history remains highly contested:
-
Stagnant Boundaries: The last boundary delimitation in Manipur was executed under the Delimitation Act of 1972, utilizing 1971 census figures. No fresh exercise has occurred since.
-
Abnormal Sub-Division Spikes: Public and political factions challenged subsequent exercises when the 2001 census showed abnormally high population growth in hill districts like Chandel and Senapati.
-
Judicial Intervention: Following intense legal scrutiny, the Manipur High Court had previously directed a recount across nine hilly sub-divisions. Because these anomalies were never fully reconciled, the broader state-wide delimitation has remained stalled for over 40 years.
The delegation reminded the Home Ministry that their demands align with legislative consensus. The Manipur Legislative Assembly has passed multiple resolutions demanding an NRC rollout, with the latest resolution officially submitted to the Union Home Ministry in January 2023.
