Manipur protests shift focus to NRC ahead of Assembly polls

Guwahati: In Manipur which is witnessing protests demanding National Register of Citizens (NRC) before census the focus has now shifted to NRC before assembly election.

The state is likely to go to assembly polls early next year. Already the census exercise has been kept on hold.

Recently Chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had a meeting with 14 civil society groups and various political parties.


The Central Government on September 5 notified deferment of the houselisting operations for Census 2027 in Manipur.

The protesting leaders said, “We want a time bound solution to our demand and as election is slated for early next year we want the NRC exercise with base year as 1951 must be rolled out.”

The notification stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 and section 17A of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948) read with rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, the Central Government hereby defers the houselisting operations for Census 2027 for the State of Manipur and for that purpose, hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs number S.O. 99(E), dated the 7th January, 2026 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), dated the 7 th January 2026.”

It added, “In the said notification, after the words “in all States and Union territories in India”, the words and brackets “(except the State of Manipur till further declaration)” shall be inserted”.

On September 1, the Centre deferred the census operations in Manipur amid protests by civil society organisations for updating the National Register of Citizens before conducting the exercise.

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. The meeting was attended by Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Union home secretary Govind Mohan, along with other senior officials.

On September 1, The Manipur High Court put on hold the census-related exercise, including the house-listing, until further notification from the Registrar General of India.

The Joint Democratic Front has been organising bandhs and protests demanding NRC has called for shut down of offices of Central and state government since September 11.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Manipur in the first week of October, during which he will lay the foundation stone for a medical college and oversee other developmental projects.

Shah recently said the government was discussing matters with stakeholders in Manipur and would inform the public once a decision is taken.

On September 7, Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam informed the assembly that the base year for the NRC in Manipur will be 1951, and the State Government will pursue the matter with the Government of India in line with the resolutions adopted by the State Legislative Assembly.

At least 306 people have been killed, and 49 remain missing in the ethnic violence that has gripped Manipur since May 2023, Home Minister Konthoujam told the state assembly on September 3.

More than 60,000 displaced after ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities on May 3, 2023. The violence erupted after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.