NRC must precede census, delimitation : UNC
Source: The Sangai Express

Senapati, August 18 2026: The United Naga Council (UNC) has reiterated its stance that no census or delimitation exercise shall be conducted in the State of Manipur before the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) .

Notably, a joint memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister of India through the Governor of Manipur by the UNC and COCOMI on May 3, 2024, highlighting the same position that any census exercise should be preceded by implementation of the NRC .

A statement issued by the UNC said that it is deeply concerned with the unchecked and continuous influx of illegal immigrants into the State of Manipur from neighbouring countries including Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and other regions.

Such influx over the decades is stated to have caused severe demographic distortion and ethnic conflict in the State and pose a direct threat to the identity, land, natural resources and the socio-political rights of the indigenous peoples of Manipur.

The UNC drew the attention of the Government to the abnormal increase of recognized and unrecognized villages in certain districts as recorded in the Government memorandum, as per 1950-69 records and 2011 census.

"The UNC views this abnormal growth and the existence of large number of unrecognized villages as evidence of demographic invasion", it said.

The council has also expressed concern on the discrete attempts made by the certain groups of illegal settlers to claim exclusive areas and territory in collusion with disruptive forces.

It reiterated that NRC must be implemented in Manipur immediately with 1951 as the base year to detect, identify and deport illegal immigrants.

No census should be conducted in Manipur until the NRC process is fully completed and a verified database of indigenous peoples and bona-fide citizens is established for ensuring fair and just census in the State.

No delimitation of Assembly Constituencies should be carried out in Manipur before the completion of NRC, it added.

Any delimitation based on distorted population figures will be a grave injustice to the indigenous communities, it said.

The UNC has also demanded an end to the practice of random recognition of villages without verification.

A cut-off year/base year must be fixed to verify existing villages and de-recognize illegal and fake villages.

The UNC asserted that NRC must precede census and delimitation to safeguard the identity, rights, land and future of the indigenous people of Manipur.

The UNC has also urged the Government of India and the Government of Manipur to consider and implement these demands immediately in public interest.

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