Manipur Assembly adopts NRC plan and population commission
Manipur's legislature approved resolutions to establish a State Population Commission and to implement the National Register of Citizens, following petitions from tribal groups alarmed by demographic changes. The move comes amid debates on population growth and indigenous rights in hill and valley d
Key takeaways
- Manipur legislative body approved resolutions to create a State Population Commission and to implement the National Register of Citizens.
- The move followed a letter from 19 tribal organisations to the Prime Minister and Home Minister urging NRC and related protective measures.
- Demographic data cited includes high growth rates in hills vs. valleys and concerns that non-locals could threaten indigenous communities.
What Happened
The Manipur Assembly resolved to establish a State Population Commission and to implement the National Register of Citizens. The resolutions were moved by Janata Dal (United) MLA Khumukcham Joykishan on the budget session's final day, and the House passed them unanimously. A delegation of tribal groups had previously written to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister urging NRC and related safeguards for indigenous communities.
The discussions referenced demographic data: growth rates for Manipur as a whole between 1971–2001 (87.67%) and 2001–2011 (120%), with hill districts recording 153.30% and 250.90%, and valley districts 94.80% and 125.40% for those periods. The hills are mainly inhabited by Scheduled Tribes, while the valley is dominated by Meitei populations. Supporters argued that the rise in non-locals could threaten indigenous communities without monitoring mechanisms, including an NRC and a population commission.
Officials noted that Assam is the only northeastern state to have implemented the NRC so far, and that the NRC exercise in that state has been in limbo since the complete draft was published in August 2019, excluding about 19.06 lakh of 3.3 crore applicants. The state also referenced the Inner-Line Permit (ILP) system, with 1961 chosen as a base year by the government to identify natives; the ILP regime in Manipur has been extended under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873, making Manipur the fourth State in the Northeast under ILP. Pro-NRC groups argued ILP alone was insufficient, calling for an NRC as a step toward addressing what they termed an influx from neighboring regions and countries.
Context for these calls includes concerns raised by tribal organizations about perceived ongoing settlement by non-locals, which they said has intensified after the 2021 Myanmar military coup and movements across Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), Myanmar, and Nepal. They cited historical entry controls such as a pass system that was abolished in 1950 as evidence of past influx and insufficient current safeguards.
Sources reviewed
Project Chintan independently synthesized and analyzed information cross-checked across the sources listed above.
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