Why Has the Manipur Census Operation Been Deferred?
· India · The Hindu, Indian Express
The Centre has deferred Census operations in Manipur following a high-level meeting in New Delhi involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, and Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh. The decision was prompted by intense local demands to first conduct the State's National Register of Citizens exercise using 1951 as the base year, amid ongoing ethnic conflicts. Community organisations across the Imphal Valley and hill districts launched protests, shutdowns, and boycotts of government offices to oppose the scheduled headcount. While Meitei, Naga, and Meitei Pangal groups insisted on the NRC update prior to the Census, the Kuki community supported the census operation to dispel false claims about population growth. With Assembly elections in the 60-member State less than a year away, authorities concluded that Manipur could not risk fresh tensions.
Why it matters
The deferment directly impacts political stability, ethnic relations, and the administrative timeline for the upcoming Assembly elections in Manipur, where opposing community demands have brought government operations to a standstill.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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