JFD says census not linked to citizenship exercise

The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) today criticised the government’s response to queries raised by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) regarding the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), stating that the clarification provided was “misleading” and lacked clarity.
Addressing media persons at the JFD office in Wangkhei, Convenor Jitendra Ningomba said the government’s suggestion that the NRC can be updated through the Census process is incorrect and could create confusion among the public.
He explained that the Census and the NRC are two distinct exercises carried out under different administrative and legal frameworks. While the Census is conducted once every ten years to collect comprehensive data on population and households, the NRC serves a different purpose—verification of citizenship status.
Ningomba stated that the Census covers all residents without distinction, whereas the NRC is specifically designed to identify who qualifies as an Indian citizen based on documentary evidence. He stressed that conflating the two processes risks misinforming the public on a sensitive and significant issue.
Referring to historical records, he noted that the 1951 Census did not include provisions for segregating or listing communities in a manner linked to citizenship determination. He maintained that there is no direct linkage between conducting a Census and updating the NRC.
“The Census will enumerate the population, while the NRC will determine citizenship,” Ningomba said, reiterating that both exercises serve fundamentally different objectives.
The JFD urged the authorities to provide clear and accurate information on the matter to avoid public misunderstanding and ensure informed discourse on issues related to citizenship and governance.