14 CSOs urges NRC to Ramdas Athawale
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 01 2026: A team of the 14 CSOs Kangleipak today met with Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale at Hotel Classic Grande and urged the Union Minister to help in identifying illegal immigrants by implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) or a similar mechanism in Manipur.

The civil society representatives and Ramdas Athawale talked for about two hours on the urgent need for updating the NRC .

The team submitted a memorandum to the Union Minister of State and urged him to take the collective demand for updating NRC to the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and other relevant Central leaders.

Speaking to media persons after the meeting, 14 CSOs Kangleipak convenor Shanta Nahakpam said that the census exercise has been deferred and the task at hand is updating the NRC .

He said that they talked with RPI(A) National president and Union Minister of State for Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale for around two hours on the people's collective demand for updating the NRC .

The meeting also deliberated on how Meitei youth were forced to take up arms in self defence in the face of relentless attacks, killings and arsons by Kuki narco-terrorists, and also on how to restore peace in the State.

Ramdas Athawale assured that he would urge Union Home Minister Amit Shah to translate into action the Manipuri people's collective wish to distinguish genuine Indian citizens from illegal immigrants by updating the NRC with 1951 as the base year before any census or delimitation exercise is carried out, Shanta said.

The 14 CSOs and leaders of several community leaders told Ramdas Athawale in clear terms that the State's political power should remain in the hands of genuine Indian citizens although updating the NRC with 1951 base year may affect all communities including Meitei, Naga, Meitei Pangal and Kuki, he said.

After listening patiently to all the issues and demands raised by the 14 CSOs and community leaders, Ramdas Athawale assured that he would place all these points before relevant Central leaders.

The village volunteers who took up arms in self defence in the wake of the sustained aggression by Kuki narco-terrorists are being arrested or detained repeatedly even after they have surrendered all their weapons to the Governor.

Highlighting this situation, the 14 CSOs raised a proposal to the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment to absorb these youth in a security establishment like IRB and retain them as village guards, Shanta said.

All Manipur Muslim Organisations Coordinating Committee president Sheikh Mohammad Jallaluddin said that the Government has issued a 'stay order' with regard to census operations in Manipur.

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