Manipur Urges End to NRC Protest, Cites Progress on Citizenship Demands

The Manipur State Government has urgently appealed to the Campaign for Justice and Fair Delimitation (JFD) to stop its ongoing protests, which include shutting down government offices, over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update. Spokespersons Th Radheshyam Singh and Sapam Ranjan Singh highlighted that the JFD demands, particularly for using 1951 as the base year for the NRC, are already being pursued at the highest levels, causing unnecessary hardship to the public. The agitation has severely affected daily government functioning, especially in the capital Imphal. This plea comes amidst a sensitive period where the Manipur Legislative Assembly recently reaffirmed its resolution to update the NRC before the Census, a decision already communicated to the Union Home Ministry. In a positive move, the Central government has already postponed the Census process for Manipur, acknowledging the state's concerns about illegal immigration, particularly from Myanmar. However, the demand for NRC is not universally supported, with groups like the Kuki-Zo Council calling it 'premature and unjustified,' highlighting deep divisions within the state on this critical issue. Manipur's Home Minister, Govindas Konthoujam, is currently in New Delhi, leading a team of MLAs to push the Centre for swift action on the NRC update. While the state government assures continued efforts, the JFD intensified office shutdowns are increasing public inconvenience and risk undesirable incidents. The government hopes the JFD will 'give peace a chance' and allow diplomatic channels to work, rather than continuing disruptive protests.