25/08/2026
14 CSOs, Community Leaders Push for NRC First, Demand Census and Delimitation Be Put on Hold
NEW DELHI,
August 25, 2026:
A coalition of 14 CSOs Kangleipak and community leaders representing different sections of Manipur on Tuesday stepped up their demand for the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census and any delimitation exercise, urging the Centre and the Manipur government to put the proposed exercises on hold until the identification of Indian citizens is completed.
Addressing a press conference at the Indian Women Press Corps in New Delhi, 14 CSOs Kangleipak Convener Santa Nahakpam said the delegation had approached the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union Home Ministry, the Registrar General of India and other authorities with representations seeking the identification of Indian nationals before any delimitation exercise in Manipur.
The delegation maintained that there is a significant gap between the concerns and aspirations of the people of Manipur and the manner in which the issue has been presented before central bureaucrats and political leaders.
Santa further said, the group has demanded that 1951 be adopted as the base year for identifying Indian citizens and updating the NRC in Manipur. The delegation cited the first Census and NRC exercise conducted in the state in 1951, following the abolition of Manipur's entry and exit pass system in 1950, among the reasons for its demand.
The 14 CSOs and community leaders also raised concerns over changes in the number of villages and administrative units over the years, arguing that the identification of citizens must be completed before the Census or any delimitation exercise is undertaken.
Highlighting Manipur's porous international border with Myanmar, the delegation said the issue of identifying citizens had become crucial and called upon the Government of India and the Government of Manipur to defer the present Census exercise and facilitate the updating of the NRC before undertaking delimitation in the state.
The group further sought a tripartite dialogue involving different stakeholders to discuss the implementation and exercise of the NRC before delimitation, acknowledging that Manipur is inhabited by indigenous, native and newcomer communities with different concerns.
The press meet was attended by Santa Nahakpam, Convener of 14 CSOs Kangleipak; Leishangthem Yaiphaba Meitei, Joint Secretary of ACOAM Lup, Kangleipak; Leirikyengbam Bedic, General Secretary of Ireicha Kanba Lup; Dr Heera Kabui, President of Kabui Union Manipur; Serto Chungjahaon Kom, President of Kom Union, Manipur; Seikh Muhammad Jalaluddin, President of the All Manipur Muslim Organisations Coordinating Committee; Gaikhiam Thaimei, Vice President of the Rongmei Naga Youth Organisation, Manipur; and Sagolsem Kulla, Convener of Manipur Ima, representing internally displaced persons in Manipur.
Reiterating their stand, the delegation urged stakeholders to examine Census data from 1951 to 2011 and maintained that the Census should be postponed and the NRC updated before any delimitation exercise is carried out in Manipur.