Imphal: Hundreds of students staged protests in Manipur’s Imphal West district on Monday, demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be implemented before the Census 2027 exercise is carried out in the state.
The rally, organised by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) Student Wing, began on Tiddim Road and covered nearly two kilometres. Carrying placards and chanting slogans of “No NRC, No Census,” students urged the government to postpone the census until citizenship verification is completed.
Protesters also called for all internally displaced people (IDPs) to be returned to their original homes before population enumeration begins, arguing that the census should reflect the state’s original demographic distribution.
In a separate demonstration, students, mostly girls, gathered outside DM College of Teacher Education in Imphal and attempted to disrupt a census training programme. Security personnel prevented the protesters from entering the venue. Students from CC Higher Secondary School in Imphal East also joined the agitation, voicing support for the demand to conduct the NRC before the census.
The demonstrations come as preparations for Census 2027 are underway nationwide. The self enumeration phase began on August 17, while the main house listing exercise is scheduled to take place from September 1 to September 30.
Student organisations have maintained that the census process in Manipur should be deferred until the NRC is implemented and displaced families are resettled, saying both measures are essential to ensure accurate population data and fair future delimitation in the state.
