New Delhi: The Modi government in a big move Monday decided to defer the Census in Manipur following a high-level review meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The census exercise was scheduled to begin Tuesday, 1 September.
The decision comes at a time when Manipur is witnessing fresh unrest—mostly in the Valley districts which are home to the non-tribal Meitei population—over the Centre’s decision to conduct the Census without the National Register of Citizens (NRC), followed by a delimitation exercise.
Citizens and students’ groups are demanding that the Centre first compile NRC to delineate legal residents from illegal immigrants in Manipur before proceeding with the Census.
Several protests have been held over the demand, along with calls to boycott central and state government offices. At one such rally last week, around 2,000 women gathered at Keishampat Junction in Imphal West to press for the demand.
Meanwhile, the Manipur High Court in Imphal also put the Census and house-listing exercise on hold following submissions made by the Centre. “After discussions, a decision has been taken to postpone/defer the house-listing operations of Census of India, 2027 as regards the State of Manipur,” the bench said.
The matter before the court pertains to Public Interest Litigations (PILs) and a writ petition concerning the issue. The PILs were filed by Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) and the Indigenous People’s Society of Kangleipak (IPSA), while the writ petition was filed by Shanta Nahakpam, who represents 14 civil society organisations of Kangleipak.
The Centre also submitted before the court that it would be desirable to list the matter after four weeks and that, in the interim, all issues raised by the petitioners would be considered at the highest level and addressed.
The next hearing is scheduled for 12 October.
Soon after the decision was taken, Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah for “listening to the voices of the people and fulfilling the aspirations of the people of the state”.
The CM said the state government’s regular engagement with central leaders and officials had resulted in the decision.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, the decision came after the Shah-chaired high-level review meeting in New Delhi where the situation in Manipur was assessed.
“The meeting discussed in detail the demand raised by the people of Manipur to defer the Census exercise in the State before the implementation of the NRC. The meeting agreed to defer the proposed Census exercise in the State considering the feelings and aspirations of the people of Manipur,” the statement said.
CM Singh also urged civil society groups to continue dialogue and extend full cooperation to the administration in addressing the state’s socio-political challenges. He said the government was for the people and that issues concerning the state should be discussed with the government to arrive at better solutions.
The meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs was attended by Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, CM Singh, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and other senior officials.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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