No NRC, No Census: Manipur Student Protesters Storm Census Office, Police Fire Tear Gas

Student protesters demanding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census demonstrated outside the Directorate of Census Operations in Imphal on Sunday, prompting police to use tear gas. Protesters were stopped from entering the office and allegedly tried to lock its main gate. Police said one protester suffered minor injuries, while another report said three students were hurt.

The protest came a day before Census 2027 house listing was due to begin with self enumeration on August 17. The main house listing exercise is scheduled from September 1 to 30. The JFD Students’ Wing says the Census should be deferred until an NRC is updated to identify alleged illegal immigrants.

“We have been demanding the NRC to identify illegal immigrants. However, the government is seeking to conduct the census without carrying out the NRC. NRC is important to save future generations,” JFD Students’ Wing convenor Naorem Wangamba said.

Another protester told reporters that conducting the Census first would allow “all illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries” to become bona-fide citizens and said indigenous people could gradually become a minority. That is the protesters’ claim. A Census count does not itself confer Indian citizenship, and there is no fresh Census data proving that illegal immigration has caused a particular change in Manipur’s population since 2011.

That data gap is central to the dispute. Manipur has not had a Census since 2011 because the 2021 Census was postponed. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 28,55,794. Reported community-wise figures put Meiteis at 43.82%, Naga groups at 23.59%, Kuki-Mizo groups at 15.69% and Meitei Pangals at 8.40%. Historical figures show the reported Meitei share falling from 59.16% in 1881 to 43.82% in 2011, while the Kuki-Mizo share rose from 7.78% to 15.69%. These figures show long-term demographic change, but they do not establish that illegal immigration caused it. There is no post-2011 Census to verify claims about the present population pattern.

The JFD says an NRC is needed before the Census because citizenship must be established before population figures are used for future delimitation, land and political representation. For students, NRC is not a scheme that directly provides jobs, scholarships or admissions. Their argument is that citizenship records could protect the interests of future generations.

The movement has also raised the issue of internally displaced people (IDPs). Students have carried placards saying “No IDP Settlement, No Census”, alongside “No NRC, No Census”. They say the long-term settlement of displaced people must also be addressed before a population count.

The demand is no longer limited to the JFD. Fourteen civil society organisations have backed an NRC before the Census. Student groups have held human chains across Imphal, while JFD protesters disrupted Census personnel training at Moirang College on August 14.

The government has not agreed to stop the Census until the NRC is completed. But its position has included a significant concession. Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said on August 7 that the state had informed the Centre of its willingness to conduct an NRC exercise within the constitutional and legal framework.

The JFD says the government has still not accepted its main demand: NRC first, Census later. On Sunday, JFD convenor Jeetendra Ningomba announced daily torch rallies from 7 pm to 8 pm and warned of stronger protests, including action at deputy commissioner offices and a possible statewide shutdown if the Census is not deferred.

Hundreds of people, many of them women, joined torch rallies in Imphal East and Imphal West on Sunday evening. Human chains were also held at Naoremthong and Khurai Lamlong. The JFD Students’ Wing has announced a boycott of the house-listing exercise.

Assam remains the only state where a full NRC exercise has been completed. Its final list in 2019 included about 3.11 crore people, while around 19.06 lakh were excluded. The Assam experience has also raised concerns about documents, appeals and the possibility of genuine citizens being left out.

The immediate dispute in Manipur is therefore about more than the Census itself. The protesters want citizenship verification before the first fresh population count in 15 years, while the government says an NRC can be considered within the law but has not agreed to make it a condition for the Census.