No delimitation on 'flawed' censuses of 2001,2011 : CSOs
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 20 2020: Delimitation must not be conducted based on the "flawed" censuses of 2001 and 2011, said several civil society bodies today.

The resolution was taken today during a "one day discourse on inaccurate census data & demographic imbalance in Manipur' held at the auditorium of Government Dance College, Palace Compound, Imphal, organised by different bodies including ACOAM-Lup (All Clubs Organisation, Association and Meira Paibi Lup), HERICOUN (Ethno Heritage Council), LIPUL (League of Indigenous Peoples' Upliftment), UPF (United people's Front) and UNACSU (United All Communities Social Uplifters) .

During the discourse, the bodies took three resolutions including their stand against conduct of a delimitation based on the 2001 and 2011 census.

As there is scientific proof that the census of 2001 and 2011 are "flawed", delimitation should not be conducted based on these two censuses, they said.

Secondly, the bodies resolved that the Government should institute a State Population Commission in time to monitor and ensure future censuses are free of flaws.

The commission will ensure that there is no "demographic imbalance" in the census.

Further, if the Government fails to institute the State Population Commission, they along with people may launch agitation, said they resolved.

At the discourse, HERICOUN president Longjam Ratan Kumar Singh asserted that the censuses of 2001 and 2011 are flawed and a delimitation based on either of the two would result in disproportionate representation of the people in the Government.

The census and delimitation, he said are important processes which would bring development.

However, the 2001 and 2011 census have many flaws with abnormal population growth in some parts of the State.

As the then Delimitation Committee in 2008 had kept the delimitation of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland on hold till 2026, Ratan said that the planned delimitation should wait till the 2031 census.

The 2031 census should be conducted effectively and efficiently and the delimitation based on this census would ensure proportional representation of the people in Government, he added.

He said that the 2001 and 2011 census had recorded abnormal population growth in nine sub-divisions of the State including Mao, Maram, Paomata, Purul and Chakpikarong.

Some sub-divisions had even recorded over 100 percent increase in the population in a decade, he added.

Retd Professor Manipur University, W Nabakumar, Head Biostatistics, RIMS Professor RK Narendra, senior Advocate Irom Lalit and Editor FPSJ Review of Arts and Politics Pradip Phanjoubam attended the discourse.

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