The Campaign for Just & Fair Delimitation (JFD) on Sunday intensified its campaign demanding “NRC Updation Before Census” by organising street-corner meetings at two locations along Indo Burma Sugnu Road and Tiddim Line. The public outreach programmes were held at marketplaces and other busy public areas to reiterate the organisation’s demand that the Census should not be conducted in Manipur until the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is updated.
Addressing the gatherings, JFD leaders asserted that conducting the Census without first identifying and excluding illegal immigrants through an updated NRC would compromise the accuracy of the population count. The organisation claimed that the inclusion of undocumented immigrants could adversely affect Manipur’s demographic profile, political representation, and the interests of its indigenous communities.
The meeting along Indo Burma Sugnu Road was led by L. Bimola and P. Sanahanbi, Co-Convenor (Mobilisation) of the JFD Task Force. The programme at Tiddim Line was led by Sougrakpam Sumati, Community Affairs, JFD, and W. Phulka, Assistant Organisation Secretary, along with other members of the organisation.
JFD further stated that more than three years have passed since the outbreak of violence on May 3, 2023, yet many internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain unable to return to their homes. The organisation argued that implementing free movement along the National Highways while thousands continue to live in displacement would be “neither just nor fair.”
Referring to the Census Act, 1948, JFD maintained that Clause 3 provides for the postponement of the Census if conditions in a particular area are not conducive to conducting the exercise properly.
The organisation also recalled its earlier announcement made at the Manipur Press Club in the presence of various civil society organisations (CSOs), demanding that the Government of Manipur publicly declare, on or before August 6, that the NRC would be updated before the Census is undertaken.