The Manipur Legislative Assembly on September 7 resolved that 1951 will be used as the base year for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said the state government would pursue the matter with the Centre in accordance with resolutions passed by the Assembly.
Responding to a question from Opposition MLA K Meghachandra Singh regarding the NRC update and the original physical records of the 1951 NRC, Konthoujam said the government was making efforts to trace the old records and would take up the matter with the Government of India.
The minister clarified that the state government cannot independently implement the NRC without approval from the Centre.
Konthoujam also said that the Manipur State Population Commission, constituted in accordance with a resolution adopted by the Assembly on August 5, 2022, was already in place.
He stressed that the NRC issue needed to be handled cautiously, citing the experience of Assam, where the NRC exercise has remained caught up in legal proceedings and the final register has not been made available in the public domain.
According to the minister, the state government has repeatedly taken up the issue with the Centre, including after the Assembly reaffirmed its earlier resolution on March 1, 2024. On September 2, 2026, the Assembly unanimously passed another resolution reaffirming its previous decisions regarding the NRC update.
“We need to cautiously move the Centre so that it would not fail like that of Assam,” Konthoujam said.
On the issue of illegal immigration, the Home Minister informed the Assembly that 24,475 illegal immigrants had been detected in Manipur so far. Of these, 14,370 were detected in Chandel district, 6,545 in Kamjong and 3,560 in Tengnoupal.
Konthoujam said the government had already taken steps to identify illegal immigrants and investigate reports of influx and the alleged unnatural growth of new villages.
A 12-member committee headed by former minister Awangbow Newmai was constituted on August 7, 2024, for this purpose, he said. The government had also issued an order concerning the committee’s Action Taken Report.
The minister further referred to a Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted on February 17, 2023, under former Tribal Affairs Minister Letpao Haokip, with Awangbow Newmai and Th Basanta Kumar Singh as members.
An Executive Committee was subsequently constituted by the Home Department on March 24, 2023, headed by Commissioner S Chourasia and comprising senior police and district officials. The committee was tasked with verifying illegal immigrants and assisting the Cabinet Sub-Committee.
However, the verification exercise was disrupted by the violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023, the minister said.
Konthoujam informed the House that 14,992 of the 24,475 detected illegal immigrants had been pushed back to Myanmar, while the remaining individuals were staying in temporary shelters in the state.
In Kamjong, 5,378 of the 6,545 detected immigrants had been pushed back, while the remaining 1,167 were being housed in government camps.
In Tengnoupal, only 14 of the 3,560 detected immigrants had been pushed back. The remaining 3,546 were being sheltered in areas along the India-Myanmar border and had been instructed to remain under the supervision of the respective Deputy Commissioner after their biometric details were recorded.
In Chandel, 9,600 of the 14,370 detected immigrants had been pushed back to Myanmar. Biometric records had been collected from 1,308 of the remaining 4,770, according to the minister.
The remaining immigrants are being housed in temporary shelters across the three districts. In Kamjong, they are staying at Namli, Wanglee, Kaka, Zoro, Iko, Skipi, Huimin Thana and Phaikoh.
In Tengnoupal, the 3,546 immigrants are staying in areas of Sadang village along the international border. Those in Chandel are being housed at Molcham, Gamphajol, Khangtung, L Nampao, Yaingol, Bongjang, Kheljang, New Lajang and nearby villages.
The government has also directed the respective Deputy Commissioners to keep the detected illegal immigrants separate from local Indian communities, the Home Minister told the Assembly.
