Manipur students demand NRC before Census, head to Delhi

Guwahati: Manipur remained tense on Thursday as students and civil society groups pressed for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be completed before the Census and the pending delimitation exercise.

Schools and colleges were shut across the state, while Census training was suspended in several districts. The Just and Fair Delimitation group has boycotted state and government offices.

The Manipur government has announced the closure of all government and private schools, government, private and aided colleges, CBSE-affiliated institutions and universities until August 22.


Deputy commissioners and concerned authorities in Jiribam, Imphal West, Thoubal and Kakching districts have deferred Census 2026 training with immediate effect.

A 10-member delegation representing various communities and civil society organisations left for New Delhi on Thursday to seek the Centre's intervention on the Census and NRC. The delegation said citizen identification should precede the pending delimitation exercise in the state.

The members said they would seek dialogue with the Centre and place people's concerns before Union ministers, BJP leaders and Intelligence Bureau officials.

"We want a discussion, not a confrontation, and seek an understanding on these issues while keeping the interests of the people of Manipur in mind," said Serto Kom, president of Kom Union Manipur.

Kom said the Census and NRC were crucial exercises that must be carried out "seriously and carefully". The delegation wants genuine Indian citizens to be identified before delimitation.

Earlier, a team of MLAs and Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla also travelled to New Delhi separately as efforts to take the issue directly to the Centre gathered momentum.

A delegation of students representing 10 schools and colleges met chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh at the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Imphal and demanded that the NRC be implemented in Manipur before the Census.