Last Updated on September 1, 2026 2:21 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Nava Thakuria
Finally the Census-2027 operation in Manipur has been deferred as strong objections surfaced from majority Meitei and other groups until the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the north-eastern State. The Union government in New Delhi agreed to defer the house-to-house counting of residents in Manipur, scheduled to begin from 1 September 2026, during a meeting, where Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, State chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh were also present. For some time, the Myanmar bordering State has been witnessing a series of protest demonstrations with the demand for updating the 1951 NRC in Manipur.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India recently admitted a petition for reviewing the NRC (updated in Assam, but not yet endorsed by the Registrar General of India/ RGI) and the Directorate of Enforcement (widely known as ED) reportedly registered a case against the financial mismanagement that took place during the Assam NRC updating process ( May 2014 to October 2019). Former NRC Assam coordinator Hitesh Devsarma sought a comprehensive and time-bound verification of the draft and supplementary NRC, which was prepared under the ‘supervision’ of the apex court. Devsarma in his personal capacity (as well as on behalf of a large section of indigenous people in Assam) approached the SC, following which the court issued notices to the Centre, Assam government, NRC State coordinator and the RGI.
He alleged that the process was full of errors and irregularities and it would create serious security implications in the country.