Heavy monsoon rains lashed Imphal East on Tuesday as a group of women protesters marched towards the District Commissioner’s office, demanding a halt to ongoing census training. The protest, held under the slogan “No NRC, No Census”, turned tense after protesters clashed with security personnel. A woman police officer and at least one protester were injured.
The women continued their march despite the heavy rain and reached the DC complex, where training for the house-listing phase of Census 2027 was underway. Security personnel deployed at the complex used smoke and riot control measures to stop the crowd from entering. A woman police personnel was injured during the scuffle.
Protesters later told reporters that their demonstration was part of a 48-hour general strike called by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD). The strike began at midnight on August 17 and will continue until midnight on August 19.
Normal life remained paralysed across Manipur’s five valley districts: Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur. Markets, schools, colleges and most commercial establishments remained closed. Public transport stayed off the roads, while government offices reported thin attendance.
In several areas, strike enforcers blocked roads with bamboo poles and boulders. At Athokpam in Thoubal, tyres were burnt as protesters raised slogans of “No NRC, No Census” and “No IDP Settlement, No Census”. The hill districts, including Churachandpur, remained largely unaffected.
The JFD and its student wing have demanded that the National Register of Citizens be updated using 1951 as the base year before any census enumeration begins. They argue that undocumented immigrants from neighbouring countries have changed the state’s demographic balance and that conducting the census first could legitimise illegal residents.
The demand is also linked to the resettlement of internally displaced persons who are still living in relief camps more than three years after the ethnic violence that began in May 2023.
“We are not against the census,” JFD convenor Jeetendra Ningomba has repeatedly said. “We want illegal immigrants identified first so that the future of indigenous people is protected.”
Preparations for Census 2027 have already led to several flashpoints. On August 16, students gathered outside the Directorate of Census Operations in Porompat, Imphal East. Police used tear gas after demonstrators tried to lock the gate, leaving at least one protester injured.
The following day, protesters tried to disrupt training sessions at the Dhanamanjuri University of Teacher Education campus. Security forces used a lathi charge, in which two students were hurt. Similar disruptions had earlier taken place at Moirang College in Bishnupur. Women vendors at the iconic Ima Keithel market also joined the agitation and shut their stalls in solidarity.
The Manipur government has sought to maintain a careful position on the issue. At a press conference at the Directorate of Information and Public Relations on Tuesday, spokesperson and MLA Sapam Ranjan Singh said the state shared public concerns over demographic change and illegal migration.
He recalled that the Manipur Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution seeking NRC implementation on August 5, 2022, and reaffirmed it on March 1, 2024. The state government had also written to the Union Home Ministry on the issue, including letters sent in January 2023 and June 2024.
A team of BJP MLAs was scheduled to travel to Delhi on Wednesday to press the demand with the Centre.
“The government is with the people of Manipur,” Ranjan said. “We firmly believe the NRC should be taken up before the census.”
At the same time, government officials appealed to the JFD to withdraw the strike. They warned that prolonged shutdowns hurt daily-wage earners, students and small traders the most.
Former chief minister N. Biren Singh, speaking from Delhi, said he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and received a patient hearing on the NRC demand. The Centre has not publicly committed to postponing the census.
The self-enumeration phase of Census 2027 began on August 17 and will continue until August 31. The main house-listing operation is scheduled from September 1 to 30.
