Manipur NRC update efforts remain at the centre of a growing dispute between the state government and the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD), with the government urging the organisation to withdraw its agitation against government offices. The JFD has intensified its protest demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur be updated using 1951 as the base year before the Census, while the state government says it is continuing to pursue the issue with the Centre.
Government asks JFD to withdraw shutdown
The latest development followed a meeting between Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam and around 30 JFD representatives on September 11. The meeting was held after the organisation announced plans to prevent state and Central government employees from attending their offices as part of its agitation.
During the meeting, the Home Minister appealed to the JFD to withdraw its campaign to shut government offices. However, the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the organisation’s key demands. JFD representatives sought a clear commitment on when the state government would approach the Centre and when an official notification would be issued on the proposed NRC exercise.
According to the JFD, the government did not provide a definite answer on the timing of a formal notification. The organisation therefore maintained that verbal assurances were insufficient and that its agitation would continue until its demands are addressed.
Manipur NRC update remains a government priority
The state government has repeatedly said that it supports the demand for an NRC in Manipur. On September 7, Home Minister Govindas told the Assembly that 1951 would be the base year for updating the NRC in the state.
He also made clear that the state government cannot independently conduct the exercise because the Centre must be involved. The government has said it will pursue the matter with the Government of India in line with resolutions adopted by the Manipur Assembly. Efforts are also underway to trace the original physical records of the 1951 NRC.
The Assembly has previously passed resolutions supporting NRC updation. The state government has also constituted the Manipur State Population Commission, while officials have stressed that the exercise needs to be handled carefully, particularly in view of the legal and administrative complications surrounding the NRC process in Assam.
State seeks Centre’s role
The disagreement partly centres on the pace at which the government is expected to act. While the JFD wants a formal assurance and a schedule for the NRC exercise, the state government maintains that the Centre has an essential role in the process.
The JFD had set September 10 as a deadline for the state government to take up its demand with the Centre and secure an official assurance on the 1951 base year. After the deadline passed without the notification sought by the organisation, the group moved ahead with its office shutdown campaign.
The Home Minister, meanwhile, told JFD representatives that state government representatives would travel to Delhi in the last week of September to pursue the matter with the Centre. The government also informed the group that it had written to the Union Home Ministry on September 10 seeking deferment of Census-related activities.
JFD locks government offices
The JFD’s latest phase of agitation began with volunteers locking several government establishments across Manipur on September 11. Offices targeted included the Trade Centre Imphal at the SDO office complex in Porompat, the Moirang SDO office and the Sub-Registrar’s office in Moirang.
Police intervened at some locations, removed the locks and reopened the offices. At least three JFD volunteers were detained during the operation, according to reports.
The organisation has said essential services would remain outside the shutdown. These include healthcare, education, electricity, water supply, postal services and other emergency-related services. The exemptions are intended to limit disruption while allowing the protest to continue.
Census timing adds to the dispute
The NRC demand is closely linked to the Census, with the JFD insisting that the citizenship register should be updated before population enumeration takes place. The organisation has argued that a 1951 base year is necessary for addressing its concerns about demographic changes and citizenship in the state.
The government has also indicated that it is pursuing the issue, but its position is that implementation cannot be undertaken by Manipur alone. This difference between the government’s approach and the JFD’s demand for immediate formal action has kept tensions high.
For now, the government’s appeal for the JFD to end the office shutdown has not produced a breakthrough. The JFD continues to demand a formal Central government-backed process, while the state government says it will keep pressing the Centre. The next phase of the dispute is likely to depend on the proposed Delhi visit by state representatives and whether it results in a concrete decision on the NRC and Census-related demands.