Issuance of Aadhaar card in Manipur
'Most stringent steps adopted here'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 02 2025:
Manipur has adopted one of the country's most stringent Aadhaar issuance processes for adult citizens, adhering to guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
According to Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Home) N Ashok Kumar, the State's rigorous scrutiny ensures that Aadhaar applications undergo thorough verification before approval to prevent fraudulent enrolments, particularly by undocumented foreigners.
The notification of the Government comes close on the heels of a Myanmarese in possession of an Aadhaar card issued by Manipur arrested with drugs worth Rs 90.75 lakh at Saitual district in Mizoram on June 26 .
There have been other cases of Myanmar Nationals arrested with Aadhaar cards issued in Manipur earlier too.
A high level meeting in this regard was held at Raj Bhavan in which Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla reviewed the Aadhaar enrolment, updation and related services in the State.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh and senior officials of UIDAI, Home, Social Welfare and Education Departments.
The Commissioner continued that each case of Aadhaar application for adult citizens has to be mandatorily scrutinised and approved only at the level of the State headquarters in the office of Special Secretary (Home) .
One of the UIDAI officials who attended the meeting observed that "Manipur's adult Aadhaar process is perhaps the most stringent in the country" .
The high quality checks and scrutiny process ensure that no illegal foreigners obtain Aadhaar fraudulently, the Commissioner (Home) said.
He added that two mandatory updates have been implemented to keep Aadhaar active and maintain the security and integrity of the ecosystem: Mandatory Biometric Updation-1 (MBU-1) for children between 5-7 years old and MBU-2 after turning 15.He noted that updating biometric data boosts security and provides uninterrupted access to Government and financial services, eliminating authentication problems.
Some cases of fake Aadhaar card
* Security forces detained at least 24 citizens of Myanmar with fake Aadhaar Cards along the international border in Manipur on October 7, 2021.The detained included 14 women and three minors who had crossed over to the border district Tengnoupal of Manipur.
Sources said the Myanmar Nationals were intercepted at the Army checkpoint at Khudengthabi.
This came a week after 11 Myanmar Nationals were detained at the Imphal Airport while trying to board a Delhi-bound flight with fake Aadhaar cards.
A District Magistrate remanded the 11 to police custody for further investigation.
In June 2024, a huge racket of issuing fake Aadhaar and voter identity cards to illegal immigrants in Manipur was busted.
Investigators released samples of the fake identity cards held by two Myanmar Nationals, who were found living among locals in a district in Manipur.
At a meeting with MHA officials in Delhi, a delegation of three top civil society organisations from Manipur asked the Centre to begin the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise or a similar mechanism in the border State to address the issue of illegal immigration.
* A Rohingya immigrant was apprehended by Assam Rifles (AR) personnel in January 2023 while he was trying to enter India from Myanmar with a fake Aadhaar card along Manipur's Moreh sector after crossing the international boundary.
* Manipur shares 400 km of the 1,640 km-long India-Myanmar border.
Fencing along the mostly porous border has started, and is expected to take a couple of years to fence the entire length.
Illegal immigration and people using fake Aadhaar have been major issues in Manipur, where Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence broke out in May 2023 .
Comment
