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India

Meitei Civil Society Groups Press Union Home Ministry for NRC Before 2027 Census

By Sentinel NE Desk · July 13, 2026 · 2 min read
Photo: Haoreima / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

An umbrella body of 14 Meitei civil society organisations told a press conference in New Delhi on July 8 that they have urged the Union government to conduct a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Manipur before the 2027 census, warning that they will not allow census operations in the state if the demand is not met.

The groups said they met Registrar General of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and Home Ministry officials in the preceding days and were assured the issue would be taken up with the Manipur government. Convenor Shanta Nahakpam told reporters: “If our demand of conducting NRC is not met then we will not allow the census to be held in Manipur.”

The organisations argue that an NRC update based on 1951 data is needed to distinguish original inhabitants from what they describe as illegal migrants who have settled in Manipur from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Mizoram. They named Meiteis, Tangkhuls, Kabuis, Liangmeis, Inpuis, Zemes, Ronmeis, Mao, Maram, and Poumai Naga communities as among those they consider original inhabitants of the state — a list that includes several Naga tribes alongside the Meitei community.

The CSOs also asked that a member of the Manipur Population Commission be added to the Centre’s High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, and said they had separately submitted a memorandum to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla making the same demand the previous week.

The push for an NRC in Manipur has built momentum among Meitei civil society groups since the ethnic violence that began in May 2023, with proponents linking it to unresolved questions about demographic change in the state. Kuki-Zo and Naga organisations have previously raised concerns that an NRC exercise could be used to target their communities rather than resolve the underlying dispute — a tension likely to shape how the Centre responds to this latest push.

No date has been set for a government decision on the demand, and it remains unclear whether the Centre will act before census preparations for 2027 begin in earnest. Sentinel NE Desk will follow developments as the Home Ministry’s response takes shape.

Compiled from reporting by The Tribune, The Wire, Deccan Chronicle, and Northeast Now Sentinel NE Desk cross-checked these accounts, including the CSOs’ own framing and the demographic claims underlying their demand, before publication. Photo: Imphal Valley, Manipur — Haoreima / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), used for general context.

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