Protesters seek NRC before Census to weed out ‘infiltrators’ in Manipur
Scores of people, mostly women, say the State needs a mechanism to weed out ‘illegal immigrants’
Security forces used tear gas to disperse a protest in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, on March 11, 2026, as demonstrators demanded that the State conduct a mechanism similar to Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census. The protest, led mainly by women, called for the identification and removal of "illegal immigrants" from Manipur, primarily from Myanmar.
The first phase of India's 16th Census, which includes house listing and counting, begins on April 1, 2026, while the second phase, involving population enumeration, is set for February 2027. The Manipur government had previously frozen administrative boundaries from January 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, to facilitate the Census. The conflict between Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities, which began in May 2023, has resulted in over 260 deaths and the displacement of 62,000 people.
Two months ago, an organization advocating for just and fair delimitation occupied the office of the State Academy of Training in Imphal, arguing that the return of displaced individuals must occur before the Census.
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