Govt's ignorance on NRC 1951 not likely to have impact on PMP Bill
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Okendra Khundongbam
Imphal, October 22 2015:
The ignorance of the Manipur Government and the Directorate of Census Operations (DCO) about the authority who prepared the National Register of Citizens (NRC), 1951 is not likely to have a negative impact on the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015 (PMP) .
PMP Bill was passed along with two other bills by the Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 31 last.
It may be recalled that Section 2 (b) of the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015 has used National Register of Citizens, 1951 to define the people of Manipur.
It has been conjectured that the existence of NRC 1951 is crucial to the validity of the PMP Bill and the Manipur Land revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 .
While the State Government is yet to clarify its position after having spilled the beans by Manipur Home Department and the Directorate of Census Operations (DCO) in their replies to an RTI application, a political analyst and an expert on the Inner Line Permit system who has been closely observing the development allayed all fears on the issue.
He said that it was an indisputable fact that there is NRC 1951 even if the State Government acknowledges not knowing under whose authority the NRC 1951 was prepared.
The RK Dorendra Ministry of the Congress Government met leaders of All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU) and All Manipur Students Coordinating Committee (AMSCOC) and agreement were signed on July 22, 1980. This agreement envisaged the start of the process of government undertaking to identify illegal migrants and take measures for their deportation under the laws with special relation to Census Reports of 1951, NRC 1951 and Village Directory 1951 .
This basically meant that there was definitive existence of NRC 1951.And also during spell of President's Rule in 1994, Governor of Manipur General VK Nayar allowed the State Government represented by KK Sethi, Chief Secretary and HV Goswami, Advisor to the Governor, to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with AMSU on November 9, 1994 at Raj Bhavan.
Governor VK Nayar as representative of the Government of India reaffirmed the agreement of 1980 .
It may be mentioned that National Register of Citizens, 1951 is a register prepared after the conduct of the Census of 1951 in respect of each village, showing the houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or holding the number and names of persons staying therein.
These registers covered each and every person enumerated during the Census of 1951 and were kept in the offices of the then Assam Deputy Commissioners and Sub Divisional Officers according to instructions issued by the Government of India in 1951 .