MMTU asks employees to boycott census
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 27 2026: The Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU) has appealed to all Government employees who have been designated enumerators and supervisors to boycott the census exercise collectively.

A statement issued by the MMTU called upon all employees to ponder over whether following the Government's order is more than saving the Nation.

It warned that the census operations, if carried out as scheduled, will turn out to be suicidal for the indigenous people.

It's time for all employees to delve into the hidden agenda behind the Government's attempt to conduct the census exercise forcefully.

Publication of a gazette notification for updating the NRC in Manipur is not a very difficult task.

It does not need introduction of a Bill in the Parliament or enactment of an Act.

It only needs the Register General to issue a notification under Section 18 of the Citizenship Act 1955, the MMTU said.

Even though the Government of India boldly declared that it would let India become a dharamsala of immigrants, New Delhi has been watching silently even after lakhs of illegal immigrants have settled in different parts of Manipur, it said.

Reacting to the objection raised by some Kuki organisations to the call for updating the NRC with 1951 as the base year on the ground that many Kuki villages were not recorded in the census exercise conducted in 1951 because of poor road infrastructure at the time, the MMTU pointed out that a general election was held in June-July, 1948 across the hills and valleys of Manipur even before Manipur was merged into the Indian Union.

Ahead of this election, electoral rolls for the whole of Manipur were published and all the villages took part in the election, it said.

If there were any villages which were not covered by the 1951 census exercise, they must be the ones which were set up later, it said.

The MMTU also dismissed the claim that the number of Kuki villages grew because of the Kuki-Naga conflict of 1992-93 .

There were a few Kuki villages which shifted to new locations on account of the Kuki-Naga conflict but a large number of Kukis were brought in from Myanmar apparently with a political motive after KNO, KNA and several Kuki militant groups were set up.

Before this, lakhs of people immigrated to Manipur from Myanmar following military coups on 1962, 1998 and 2001 and the resulting political unrest in the neighbouring country, the MMTU said.

It said that 30 per cent of the total population of Manipur are Kuki and Zo immigrants from Myanmar and they are occupying two-third of the total geographical area of Manipur.

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