JFD calls for NRC update alongside census in Manipur

Convenor of the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD), Jeetendra Ningomba, has urged the Manipur Government to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) alongside the upcoming Census exercise scheduled to begin from August 16 in the state.
Addressing public meetings at Sekmai Koujengleima Community Hall in Awang Sekmai and Wangoi Bazar, Jeetendra Ningomba alleged that illegal immigrants from across the border had infiltrated indigenous communities and were now attempting to portray themselves as original inhabitants of the state.
He claimed that the ongoing unrest in Manipur was triggered by such infiltration and cautioned that failure to identify illegal immigrants during the Census process could eventually reduce indigenous people to a minority in their own homeland.
Referring to the 1951 Census, he said population identification was not impossible if carried out systematically. He also called upon Civil Society Organisations and Meira Paibi groups to intensify pressure on the government to safeguard indigenous interests.
Jeetendra Ningomba maintained that the government’s proposed population identification exercise was a positive step, but asserted that illegal immigrants must first be identified and separated before any proper identification process is conducted.