Manipur Census 2027 Put on Hold as Groups Demand NRC First

Manipur will not be counted when the next phase of Census 2027 begins on 25 January 2027. The Registrar General of India listed the state among the areas excluded “till further declaration” in the schedule it notified on Friday, 30 October, according to reports in The Morung Express and the Times of India. Meitei and Naga civil society groups have been demanding that a National Register of Citizens be prepared before any population count in the state.

Households Stay Uncounted for Now

For residents of the Imphal valley and the hill districts, the practical effect is that there is no enumeration date. The rest of the country follows the notified calendar: enumeration from 25 January to 28 February 2027, with a reference date of 1 March, and self-enumeration opening earlier in January. Manipur has no such calendar, and the notice gives none.

Census data feeds the allocation of central funds and the planning of schools, health centres and roads, so a state left out carries a gap in that record until the count is held.

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Demands Behind the Pause

Manipur’s house-listing operations were already deferred in September, as All India Radio reported on 5 September. The latest notice extends that halt to the whole exercise.

AMUCO and four other organisations, AMAWOVA, PLMPAM, COHR and MSF, have protested in Imphal’s Lamsang Bazar, according to The Sangai Express. Their demands include an updated NRC with 1951 as the base year, the annulment of SIR 2026, the resettlement of displaced people and repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. AMUCO president Sanjoy Sorokhaibam has criticised the Centre’s handling of the issue.

No Date Yet for Manipur

The notice does not say when Manipur will be brought back into the schedule, and no ministry statement explains the conditions for doing so. Until the Registrar General makes a fresh declaration, the state remains outside the 25 January to 28 February window. IPB has earlier reported on how the Census rules were changed for enumerators; more stories are in Daily Updates.

Source: Based on reporting by The Morung Express, Times of India and The Sangai Express.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.