The Central Government has formally kept Manipur out of the scheduled Census 2027 exercise until further notice, amid growing demands from civil society organisations that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before any population enumeration is conducted in the state.
In a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 30 and published in the Extraordinary Gazette of India, the Centre stated that Census 2027 would be carried out across most States and Union Territories, but Manipur has been excluded from the current schedule until a further declaration is made.
The notification, issued under the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990, specifies that house-to-house population enumeration in the notified areas will be conducted between January 25 and February 28, 2027, followed by a revisional round from March 1 to March 5. A self-enumeration facility will be available from January 10 to January 24, while the reference date for the Census has been fixed at 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.
The decision comes amid an intensifying “No NRC, No Census” campaign led by several Meitei and Naga civil society organisations. These groups have argued that citizenship verification through an updated NRC must precede the Census. Some organisations have also linked the issue to electoral constituency delimitation, adopting the slogan “No NRC, No Delimitation.”
According to the organisations, conducting a Census without first updating the NRC could result in undocumented migrants, including alleged recent entrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, being counted as residents. They contend that such inclusion could distort demographic data and affect the indigenous population’s political representation, resource allocation, and long-term interests.
Concerns have also been raised over future delimitation exercises. The organisations argue that population figures derived from a Census conducted without prior citizenship verification could significantly influence the redistribution of constituencies and political representation. As a result, they have demanded that the NRC be updated first, followed by the Census and any subsequent delimitation process.
The campaign has included demonstrations, public meetings, and memoranda submitted to the Central Government. The United Naga Council (UNC) has also endorsed the NRC-first approach, linking it to both Census and delimitation-related concerns.
On August 24, representatives of 14 Meitei and Naga civil society organisations met Ministry of Home Affairs officials and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi, urging the Centre to update the NRC before conducting the Census and delimitation exercises.
Separately, five organisations, including AMUCO, AMAWOVA, PLMPAM, COHR and MSF, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Governor on August 20, seeking deferment of the Census. They cited the prevailing security situation, restrictions on free movement and the large-scale displacement caused by ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023, arguing that an accurate Census would be difficult under such circumstances.
Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh welcomed the Centre’s decision and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for what he described as their concern for the welfare and interests of Manipur’s indigenous people.
The United Meitei-Pangal Committee, Manipur also termed the exclusion of the state from the Census schedule a significant development, while cautioning that it should not be interpreted as a permanent cancellation of the Census, since the notification leaves room for a future declaration by the Government.
Reiterating its position, the organisation maintained the slogan “No NRC, No Census,” stating that the protection of the identity, rights and interests of Manipur’s indigenous communities must remain a priority and that all decisions concerning the state should be guided by transparency, justice and public confidence.
However, the NRC-first demand has faced opposition from the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), which has described the proposal as premature and unwarranted. The council has argued that the Census should be completed before any move toward implementing the NRC.
The issue has also gained political significance. The Manipur Legislative Assembly had earlier passed resolutions seeking implementation of the NRC on August 5, 2022, and March 1, 2024. Several organisations have consistently advocated using 1951 as the base year for updating the register.
While the latest Gazette notification formally confirms that Manipur will not be included in the currently announced Census 2027 schedule, it does not specify when the exercise will eventually be held in the state or whether an NRC update will precede it. As a result, the debate over citizenship verification, demographic integrity and political representation is likely to remain at the centre of public discourse in Manipur.
