Students of Maharaja Bodhchandra College (MB College) and several schools staged separate protests in Imphal today, intensifying opposition to the proposed Census from August 17 and demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated and internally displaced persons (IDPs) resettled before the exercise.
At MB College, students staged a protest at the college gate under the banner of the Students’ Wing of the JFD, raising slogans such as “No NRC, No Census” and “No IDP Settlement, No Census.”
Speaking to the media, MB College Students’ Union Finance Secretary Md. Parbeez warned that conducting the Census without first updating the NRC could trigger serious unrest. He also demanded that IDPs be allowed to return and resettle in their respective places before the Census.
Similar protests were held along Tiddim Road by students of Pritambara English School, Ratankumar Memorial School and Regular English High School. The protesters reiterated the demand for NRC updation and proper resettlement of IDPs.
Nameirakpam Syndia, a student of Pritambara English School, said conducting the Census under the prevailing circumstances would be unacceptable, as many displaced students and families remain in relief camps.
The protests came a day after the JFD and its affiliated wing staged a similar demonstration in Imphal, demanding postponement of the Census and NRC updation first. Protesters today intensified the campaign, with “No NRC, No Census” slogans echoing across the protest sites.