14 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), along with like-minded organisations and community leaders, on Monday organised a seminar-cum-workshop in Imphal to reaffirm the demand for 1951 as the base year for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur.
The seminar, held at Sangai Hall, Hotel Imphal, focused on evaluating the recent Manipur Legislative Assembly resolution on NRC updation and the latest Gazette notification of the Registrar General of India (RGI) deferring the Census.
Convenor Shanta Nahakpam said 24 community leaders and representatives participated in the deliberations, which examined whether the Assembly resolution adequately protected the interests of the people and addressed the demand for 1951 as the NRC base year.
He said the people’s position remained unchanged—that the NRC must be updated before the Census and any delimitation exercise in Manipur. While the Assembly has resolved in favour of updating the NRC before the Census, differences remain over the specific base year, he added.
The seminar also reviewed the course of action on representations already submitted to the Union Home Ministry, Prime Minister and other concerned authorities. Shanta Nahakpam said the NRC issue required careful handling given Manipur’s complex demographic and socio-political situation.
Referring to the recent visit of a 14-CSO delegation to New Delhi, he said the delegation had raised NRC-related concerns with government agencies, political leaders and representatives of political parties.
Shanta Nahakpam said the organisations would continue pressing for safeguards in future government orders or Gazette notifications. He asserted that no delimitation exercise should be undertaken until genuine Indian citizens are properly identified and listed.
With the Census deferred and enumeration expected to begin in February, he said there was still an opportunity to pursue the demand with the governments and the RGI. He expressed hope that sustained pressure and consultations would lead to the NRC being updated with 1951 as the base year before the Census and delimitation exercise.
