Memo to Shah demands NRC with 1951 base year
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, March 20 2023: Demanding implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur with 1951 as the base year, seven students' organisations of Manipur submitted a memorandum to Union home minister Amit Shah.

The student bodies are All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANS-AM), Manipuri Students' Federation (MSF), Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Kaneleipak Students' Association (KSA), Students' Union of Kangleipak (SUK), Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Sinpan-glup (AIMS) and another prominent students' body.

In the memorandum, the student bodies stated that Manipur had strict regulations for outsiders in visiting and settling prior to its merger with the dominion of India in 1949.However, the regulations were done away with by the then chief commissioner Himmat Singh in 1950 thus opening a floodgate for outsiders to come and settle in Manipur, which is a small state of 22,327 sq km and comprising 0.7 per cent of the land surface of India.

The population growth suddenly shot up beyond imagination since then, the memorandum said.

According to the memorandum, the decadal population growth rate of Manipur was only 12.08 per cent from 1941 to 1951 but cancellation of the immigration regulation resulted in a sharp increase in growth rate.

The increase can only be explained by migration from neighbouring countries and states and cannot be defined by natural birth.

When one examined the composition of the population based on the mother tongue spoken, one comes to the conclusion that the immigrants are mostly from the cognate tribes from neighbouring Myanmar, Nepali from Nepal and Muslims from Bangladesh - the latter now a distinct force in Jiribam district bordering Assam.

In Tripura, Hindus were the primary migrants from erstwhile East Pakistan and now Bangladesh and most Muslim migrants from this country reached Assam and Manipur while some settled in Nagaland, the student bodies said.

The memorandum further pointed out that people of Manipur have been demanding update and implementation of NRC through the available records as done in Assam with 1951 as the base year as Manipur joined the Union of India on October 15, 1949 .

While reiterating the demand for NRC in Manipur with 1951 as the base year, it mentioned that the people's demands are strictly based on the need for small communities in the region and the state to survive.

Almost 90 per cent of geographical area of Manipur comprises hills where non-ST communities cannot purchase land while population density in the valley comprising around 10 per cent was 730 person per sq/km as per the 2011 census and hence will not be able to cater to aliens as the growing population need to be catered first.

This high population impacts the hills as many aliens stay there as sharecroppers and it will be difficult to dislodge them later.

This impacted indigenous hill brethren and led to conflict now and then including violent reaction.

A report last year indicated that there is explosion in the number of new villages in the state with many seeking recognition from the government.

In addition to the existing 2,803 villages, another 996 villages are seeking fresh recognition, the memorandum highlighted.

Even the ILP regime which the BJP government extended to Manipur has little impact as there is no definition on the term inhabitant.

The state cabinet decided to adopt 1961 as the base year for identifying the inhabitants of Manipur.

The state government could regulate the inflow of visitors but the most important is the regulation of visitors from other countries who have the habit of settling down in the state through marriages, etc., the memorandum said.

While appealing to the Union home minister to protect the indigenes of Manipur, who are being swamped and marginalised in own home state, the memorandum pressed that the NRC for the state with 1951 as the base year be prepared and advise the state government to constitute Manipur State Population Commission in line with the National Population Commission at the earliest.

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