Three years after deadly ethnic violence erupted in Manipur, the BJP-ruled state is embroiled in a controversy over the demand to “update” the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC). While the government has backed the demand raised by civil society organisations, communities remain divided over it. The NRC demand is rooted in widespread concerns over protecting indigenous communities, their land, culture and identity.
Timeline
November 18, 1950: Then Chief Commissioner of Manipur Himmat Singh abolishes the native permit system that had regulated the entry and stay of outsiders in the princely state before its merger with India.
1980: A student-led movement begins demanding reinstatement of the permit system, while a demand is also raised in Parliament to bring Manipur under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime.
2012: The movement gathers momentum with the formation of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System.
2015: A series of agitations over the ILP demand begins.
2020: The Centre extends the ILP regime to Manipur.
2021-22: The NRC demand begins resonating in Manipur as concerns grow that the ILP cannot address illegal immigration.
June 2022: COCOMI and the UNC submit a joint memorandum to then Chief Minister N Biren Singh seeking a State Population Commission and implementation of the NRC.
July 2022: Nineteen tribal federations and tribes urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up “centres of operation” for the immediate detection and deportation of foreigners and implement an NRC.
August 5, 2022: The Manipur Assembly resolves for the first time to establish a State Population Commission and introduce and enforce an NRC.
2023: The NRC demand intensifies during the Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence amid claims by Meitei organisations and the UNC about illegal immigration, insurgency, demographic distortion and threats to indigenous communities.
March 1, 2024: The Manipur Assembly reaffirms its resolution on the State Population Commission and NRC.
April 2024: Then Chief Minister N Biren Singh claims that at least 996 villages had been established in the state, attributing the phenomenon to the unnatural growth of illegal immigrants.
July 1: Fourteen Meitei organisations submit a memorandum to Governor AK Bhalla insisting on an NRC to identify people who allegedly migrated from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Mizoram.
September 2, 2026: The Manipur Assembly again reaffirms its resolution on the State Population Commission and NRC.
Recently: Manipur Home Minister KonthoujamGovindas informs the Assembly that 1951 would be the base year for the NRC, the state would pursue the matter with the Centre and records of the 1951 NRC were being traced.
What was the native permit system?
Before its merger with India, the princely state of Manipur maintained a native permit system to regulate the entry and stay of outsiders. The system was abolished by then Chief Commissioner Himmat Singh on November 18, 1950.
Why was the ILP demand raised?
A movement demanding reinstatement of the permit system began in 1980, spearheaded by students. The same year, a demand was raised in Parliament to bring Manipur under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime.
The movement was launched with the objective of checking the influx of outsiders. It gathered momentum in 2012 with the formation of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System. A series of agitations followed from 2015, eventually leading to the Centre extending the ILP to Manipur in 2020.
What is the ILP?
The Inner Line Permit (ILP), an offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, is an official travel document that Indian citizens from outside certain protected states are required to carry during a visit or stay there for a limited period.
It has been implemented in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, besides Manipur. Since the ILP does not determine citizenship, concerns over illegal immigration persisted.
Why is there a demand for an NRC?
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being sought in Manipur against the backdrop of concerns over illegal migration. The state shares a porous border with Myanmar, and indigenous communities in the state have long expressed concerns over illegal migration, not just from Myanmar but also Bangladesh. Alleged changes in demography fuelled a sense of insecurity among them.
India-Myanmar border villages are home to communities with similar ethnicities. While individuals from other states visiting Manipur can be documented under the ILP, concerns over illegal migration of foreigners remained.
Realising that the ILP could not address the problem of illegal immigration, civil society organisations pushed for an enumeration of people living in the state through an NRC with the 1951 historical cut-off date. It was against this backdrop that the NRC demand began resonating in Manipur from 2021-22.
How did the NRC demand grow?
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a conglomerate of Meitei civil society organisations, and the United Naga Council (UNC), the state’s apex Naga organisation, submitted a joint memorandum to then Chief Minister N Biren Singh in June 2022.
They urged him to set up a State Population Commission and implement the NRC.
In July the same year, 19 tribal federations and tribes, including Tangkhul, Zeme, Liangmai, Aimol, Maring and Kom, urged the Centre to set up “centres of operation” for the immediate detection and deportation of foreigners.
In their memorandum, they urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to safeguard genuine citizens of the state through implementation of the NRC. They said immigrants had settled down “autonomously” in the state since the abolition of the permit system in 1950.
What did the tribal groups say about the influx?
The tribal entities told the Centre that no meaningful step had been taken on the influx issue in the last 75 years under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
They said continuous influx had persisted within indigenous communities, eroding their socio-economic and political rights.
Why did the NRC demand intensify during the ethnic violence?
The NRC demand intensified during the 2023 Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence.
Meitei organisations repeatedly claimed that illegal Kuki immigrants and insurgents from Myanmar were either involved in or helped escalate the violence.
The UNC alleged that influx for decades had caused severe demographic distortion and ethnic conflict, posing a direct threat to the identity, land, natural resources and socio-political rights of indigenous communities.
What was the issue of the ‘mushrooming’ of villages?
In April 2024, one year into the ethnic violence, then Chief Minister N Biren Singh claimed that at least 996 villages had been established in the state.
He attributed the phenomenon to the unnatural growth of illegal immigrants. This further heightened concerns among indigenous communities over their land and identity.
How did the NRC issue deepen community faultlines?
The division over the NRC issue came to the fore when the Manipur government was all geared up for census operations.
Meitei and Naga organisations demanded that the NRC precede the census. Kuki groups dismissed the demand outright, calling it “premature and unjustified”, and welcomed the census.
Why did the Centre defer the census?
The deferment followed stepped-up protests by a Meitei civil society and student-led movement demanding an NRC.
People wholeheartedly supported its two shutdown calls.
The Nagas had been all along on the same page on the NRC issue. The UNC directed Naga tribes and organisations to ensure that no cooperation was extended by villagers to government officials detailed for undertaking the census exercise.
With the state showing signs of a return to normalcy and Assembly elections due early next year, the census had turned into a hot potato for the Centre, which chose to play it safe by deferring the exercise.
What are the arguments for an NRC?
Meitei and Naga civil society organisations stress that an NRC exercise will help detect illegal immigrants.
Fourteen Meitei organisations submitted a memorandum to Governor AK Bhalla on July 1, insisting on an NRC to identify people who migrated allegedly from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Mizoram and posed a threat to the state’s indigenous communities.
Naga organisations similarly believe that a proper NRC will help identify immigrants they claim have settled down in ancestral Naga lands.
What is the Kuki stand on the census and NRC?
The Kuki-Zo Council says that NRC is a national exercise, and neither a state government nor any community can unilaterally determine or undertake an NRC at its discretion.
Given the limited administrative infrastructure and connectivity in 1951, particularly in the remote hill areas of Manipur, the organisation says the 1951 census and NRC are likely to contain significant gaps and inaccuracies in population records.
Noting “persistent allegations, misinformation and demographic claims surrounding the Kuki-Zo population” made during the ethnic conflict, the organisation says an impartial and comprehensive census is essential to establish the facts and dispel “unfounded assertions.”
What is the Manipur government’s position?
On August 5, 2022, the Manipur Assembly for the first time resolved to establish a State Population Commission and introduce and enforce the NRC.
The House reaffirmed this resolution on March 1, 2024, and September 2 this year.
Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam recently informed the Assembly that the base year for the NRC would be 1951 and that the state government would pursue the matter with the Centre in line with the resolutions adopted by the Assembly.
He further informed the House that the records of the 1951 NRC were being traced.
