Centre defers Manipur census; Kukis oppose 'NRC before census' call given by Meiteis, Nagas

Guwahati: The Centre on Monday deferred the census operations in Manipur following demands from civil society organisations to revise the National Register of Citizens (NRC) 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 Y Khemchand Singh, Union home secretary Govind Mohan and other senior officials.

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


Singh expressed his gratitude to PM Narendra Modi, Shah and other central leaders for listening to the voices of the people.

Meiteis, Nagas, Meitei Pangals (Muslims) and some smaller communities have collectively called for NRC before census, fearing it could legitimise illegal immigrants as Indian citizens. However, the Kuki-Zo leadership and their CSOs have opposed the demand.