Women’s groups, students and civil society organisations in Manipur are intensifying protests demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before the Census 2027 exercise.
Meira Paibis have staged torch rallies across Imphal Valley and other districts, raising the slogan “No NRC, No Census” amid concerns over migration, demographic change, political representation and the status of internally displaced people.
The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) has led a wider agitation, including a 48-hour general strike that disrupted normal life and led several districts to defer Census-related training. The state government has supported the NRC demand, with Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh assuring students that the issue will be discussed in the Assembly session beginning September 2.
However, the Kuki-Zo Council has opposed conducting an NRC before the Census, arguing that an impartial Census should come first. With Census preparations already underway, the dispute has emerged as a sensitive test of how Manipur can address competing concerns over citizenship, identity and representation without deepening existing divisions.
Women Lead Torchlight Protests
Meira Paibis, a prominent women-led grassroots movement in Manipur, have taken to the streets in growing numbers to demand that the NRC be updated before population enumeration begins. Recent torch rallies have been reported in several parts of the Imphal Valley, including Thoubal and Bishnupur, with women gathering after dark and raising slogans such as “No NRC, No Census”.
At Khongjom in Thoubal district, the Khongjom Circle Meira Paibi Lup organised a torch march in which women called on the state government to convene a special Assembly session and take a decision on the NRC before Census activities proceed. Lup secretary Mutum Nirmala said women would oppose Census-related activities in the area if the NRC demand was not addressed.
The mobilisation is part of a wider campaign led by the JFD, which says population figures should not be finalised before concerns surrounding citizenship and alleged illegal immigration are addressed. The protests have also brought internally displaced people into the discussion, with several demonstrations demanding their resettlement before the Census.
The issue has consequently moved beyond a technical question about population enumeration to one involving identity, displacement and political representation. At the same time, the Kuki-Zo Council has rejected the NRC-before-Census demand, saying an unbiased Census is necessary first to establish accurate demographic data and warning against using demographic questions in ways that could deepen existing tensions.
Census Preparations Face Disruptions
The protests come as Manipur prepares for Census 2027, making the timing particularly significant. The agitation has already affected the administrative preparations for the exercise. Several district administrations in the Imphal Valley deferred or cancelled training programmes for enumerators and supervisors amid the protests.
Training scheduled in Imphal East, Imphal West, Kakching and Jiribam was deferred over law-and-order concerns, while the exercise continued in Churachandpur and Pherzawl. Officials said the first-phase training was part of preparations for the house-listing and housing census.
The situation escalated during the JFD’s 48-hour general strike, after which the state government ordered the closure of schools, colleges and higher educational institutions from August 20 to 22, citing the prevailing law-and-order situation.
Students have also joined the movement. On August 20, representatives from 10 schools and colleges marched in Imphal demanding that the Centre implement the NRC before the Census and use it to identify alleged illegal immigrants. The delegation was stopped by police before representatives were allowed to meet Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh.
Following the meeting, the Chief Minister said the state government supports implementation of the NRC and would move to discuss it during the Assembly session beginning September 2. He also stressed that “conducting the NRC and ensuring its error-free implementation” were issues that needed to be addressed.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The demand for an NRC before the Census reflects genuine anxieties among sections of Manipur’s population about identity, migration, displacement and political representation, and those concerns deserve to be heard through democratic institutions rather than dismissed. At the same time, citizenship verification and demographic exercises must be transparent, legally sound and inclusive, with safeguards to ensure that no genuine citizen or vulnerable community is unfairly excluded.
The opposition from Kuki-Zo organisations also underlines why decisions affecting Manipur’s population cannot be approached solely through the lens of one community’s concerns. The state has already endured prolonged conflict and displacement, and any further confrontation around identity could deepen mistrust between communities.
