NRC updation in Manipur has emerged as a major point of contention after a Census training programme for enumerators and supervisors was disrupted in Tengnoupal district on August 25. The programme at St Joseph Higher Secondary School in Kuraopokpi was opposed by civil society organisations demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before the Census is conducted in the state.
The development comes amid growing protests across Manipur over the sequencing of the NRC, Census and delimitation exercises. The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) and several community organisations have maintained that population enumeration should follow identification of citizens through an updated NRC.
Census training disrupted in Tengnoupal
Government employees from different parts of the district had gathered at St Joseph Higher Secondary School for the scheduled training. According to reports, members of the Chandel Naga Peoples Organisation (CNPO), Maring Uparup Assembly and the JFD Task Force reached the venue and opposed the programme.
The school authorities also objected to holding the training amid the protest. Following the objections, the trainees left the premises without proceeding with the scheduled exercise. Personnel from Machi Police Station later visited the area and assessed the situation.
Another report said representatives of the JFD, Maring Uparup, Aimol Tribe Union and Pallel Meira Paibi Apunba Lup also urged the trainees not to participate in the programme. The organisations cited concerns over conducting Census-related preparations before NRC updation in Manipur.
Why NRC updation is at the centre of the dispute
Organisations opposing the Census preparations have argued that the population exercise should not proceed before citizenship-related concerns are addressed. They have also linked the demand to the proposed delimitation exercise, which uses population figures as an important basis.
CNPO convenor T Saka said government attempts to conduct Census training despite the demand to defer the exercise until the NRC is updated showed a disregard for public sentiment. The organisation has called for Census-related training to be stopped across Tengnoupal district.
The issue is also connected to concerns over internally displaced people. Protest groups have argued that the continuing displacement caused by the prolonged conflict makes it difficult to establish an accurate picture of households and population in some areas.
Protests spread beyond Tengnoupal
The Tengnoupal incident is part of a wider campaign against Census preparations in Manipur. In Imphal West, the state government deferred training for Census 2027 enumerators and supervisors amid protests and law-and-order concerns. The programme was scheduled as part of the first phase of the Census exercise.
The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation had also called a 48-hour general strike and announced a boycott of government offices as part of its campaign for NRC updation in Manipur before the Census. Educational institutions across the state were temporarily closed from August 20 because of the prevailing law-and-order situation.
Earlier, a Census training programme in Lilong was cancelled, while protests also affected training activities at other locations. These developments have added uncertainty to the preparations for Census 2027 in the state.
Political backing adds pressure
The demand has also received support from sections of Manipur’s political leadership. State government spokespersons said in August that the government had previously supported the NRC demand. The Manipur Legislative Assembly passed a resolution in August 2022 urging that an NRC be taken up in the state, and the resolution was reaffirmed in March 2024.
On August 25, NPP MLA M Rameshwar Singh said he had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior officials seeking NRC updation before the Census. He described conducting the Census before implementing the NRC as inappropriate under the present circumstances.
Meanwhile, representatives of 14 civil society organisations travelled to New Delhi and met officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. They sought the completion of the NRC before the Census and delimitation exercises.
Census preparations face uncertainty
The disruption in Tengnoupal highlights the practical difficulties facing NRC updation in Manipur and Census preparations at the same time. While the Census remains a major administrative exercise, protesters are insisting that citizenship identification must come first.
With civil society organisations continuing their campaign and political representatives taking the issue to the Centre, further Census-related training programmes could face scrutiny in the coming days. The immediate challenge for authorities will be to balance the statutory Census process with concerns raised by communities over citizenship, displacement and future political representation.
For now, the Tengnoupal disruption has reinforced the growing demand for NRC updation in Manipur before the state proceeds further with Census preparations, keeping the issue firmly at the centre of the state’s political and administrative debate.
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