Human chain says no to census before NRC
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 13 2026: A large number of people including students from Standard Robarth Higher Secondary School, Canchipur today staged a human chain protest against conducting census exercise in Manipur without first updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) .

Students of Standard Robarth Higher Secondary School formed a human chain at Kyamgei along Imphal-Moreh highway, protesting the Government's failure to give any response to the people's demand for updating the NRC and deferring the census operations.

Later members of Peace and Integrity Committee Kangleipak (PICK), Kongba Irong Youth Development Club, Kongba Irong Meira Paibi and All Kyamgei Nupi Chaokhat Thourang Lup staged a similar protest along the same road at Kyamgei.

Human chain says no to census before NRC

Apart from shouting many slogans vehemently condemning the Government's attempt to carry out census operations against the collective will of the indigenous people, the students held placards which read "No NRC, No Census" and "No IDP settlement, No Census" .

The human chain protest of students was organised under the aegis of the JFD Students Wing.

Speaking to the media, JFD Students wing convenor Naorem Wangamba said that the ongoing movement is for the future generations of indigenous people.

However, police personnel and other law enforcing agencies have been treating the protesters in a very hostile and disrespectful manner as seen at SK Women's College, Nambol on Wednesday.

Categorically saying that the house listing operation scheduled to begin from August 17 is unacceptable to the student community, Wangamba said that the student community is prepared to launch stronger and more intense modes of agitation if the Government does not take up concrete measures to protect the indigenous people of the land at the earliest.

The second human chain protest too raised similar slogans like "No NRC, No Census", "No IDP settlement, No Census", "Defer Census Operations", "Don't cede any part of Manipuri's territory etc .

Speaking to media persons, PICK convenor Chingakham Meghachandra remarked that the people's collective wish for identification of illegal immigrants could have been realised a long time back if the Ministers and MLAs were as much interested as they are in the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.

He said that illegal immigrants will overwhelm indigenous people if the NRC is not updated with 1951 as the base year.