Meira Paibis and representatives from around 20 villages joined a sit-in protest organised by the North Imphal Meira and Clubs Co-ordinating Committee (NIMAC) at Khonghampat Awang Leikai, with Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) Convenor Jeetendra Ningombam warning that the agitation would be intensified if the government fails to issue a formal order on updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with 1951 as the base year.
Addressing a public meeting held in connection with the protest, Jeetendra said the JFD would continue its agitation if the Manipur Government failed to inform the public by the end of September that the NRC would be updated using 1951 as the base year.
He said the movement would continue until the demands raised by the people were fulfilled and called for an official government order clearly confirming the 1951 base year for the NRC updation.
The JFD Convenor reiterated three key demands: that the Census should not be conducted in Manipur until the NRC is updated; that the Census should not be held until internally displaced persons (IDPs) are resettled in their respective homes; and that 1951 should be adopted as the base year for updating the NRC.
Jeetendra Ningombam said the government should also make public any assurance or commitment obtained from the Centre on the NRC-Census issue. He maintained that the reported efforts of the State Government to approach the Centre would need to be backed by a clear and formal decision communicated to the people.
He warned that failure to issue such an official order by the end of September would prompt the JFD to intensify its ongoing agitation and take further steps to press its demands.
Jeetendra Ningombam further said the State Government should consider the possible consequences for Manipur’s future population if the NRC is not updated. He claimed that continued demographic changes could pose serious challenges to the indigenous communities and said protecting the future demographic composition of Manipur was the responsibility of the present generation.
He urged the people to remain united and asserted that the JFD would not compromise on issues concerning the protection of the indigenous population. He also appealed to the government to address the NRC and IDP resettlement concerns before proceeding with the Census.
The protestors held placards carrying messages including “Truth, Transparency, Justice”, “Our Land, Our People, Our Future” and “Our Land, Our Right, Our Responsibility”, while demanding citizenship verification and transparency in the Census process.
They also raised slogans against the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement and demanded that innocent villagers not be arrested.
At Keishamthong in Imphal West Students of Ramlal Paul Higher Secondary School on Saturday joined the ongoing agitation led by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) and its Students’ Wing, holding a protest demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before the Census, with 1951 fixed as the base year.
Speaking to the media, school student Mangalsana Sapam said people in Manipur have been raising the demand for conducting NRC updation before the Census for a long time. Expressing solidarity with the JFD movement, the students participated in the protest and called for 1951 to be adopted as the base year for the NRC.
JFD Students’ Wing volunteer Md. Shahaj Khan, who organised the protest at the school, said the government had stated during the monsoon that the Census would be deferred and the NRC would be updated using 1951 as the base year.
However, he pointed out that the assurance was made only verbally and that no official document has been issued in this regard. He urged the government to begin the NRC updation process without further delay.