Opposition against census before NRC grows CJFD lines up mass protest

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 4: Taking serious note of the order issued by the Government which has frozen adminis-trative boundaries of dis- tricts, sub-divisions and villages, the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (CJFD) has decided to launch a strong protest movement.
Speaking to media persons at the office of CCSK at Wangkhei today, CJFD convenor Jeetendra Ning-omba announced that a strong mass movement will be launched either in the last week of February or the first week of March this year  against the scheduled census operations in Manipur.
“We do not oppose census operations. We are only asking for identification and repatriation of illegal immigrants by way of updating NRC or through a similar mechanism before initiating the census operations”, he said.
Jeetendra Ningomba said that they have been appealing to the Government of India to defer the census operations for some time considering the present restive situation and the absence of a secure environment for free movement in the State.
After its establishment on April 8, 2025, a team of CJFD went to Delhi on December 15 and submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The memorandum made a fervent appeal to either update the NRC before the census operations or defer the census operations, he said.
The CJFD convenor said that they submitted a similar memorandum to the Governor on December 16.
He decried that neither the State Government nor the Central Government has paid any attention to their appeal.
One of the resolutions adopted at a conclave of political parties organised by CJFD on December 27, 2025 stated that all the political parties will oppose census operations under the prevailing situation either collectively or separately, Jeetendra said.
He said that the Government’s indifference to their appeal has constrained them to mobilize all indigenous people for a strong protest movement.
As such, CJFD is preparing to launch a strong protest either in the last week of February or the first week of March, he said.
CJFD convenor (organisation) L Ratankumar said that both the census operations of 2001 and 2011 were flawed and erroneous.
If any delimitation is carried out based on these erroneous census reports, it will turn out to be a serious challenge to the National security.
Moreover, there is a strong possibility of legalizing illegal immigrants, Ratankumar said.
At the same time, there is a growing fear that the influx of illegal immigrants  may multiply in the coming years in view of the porous      Indo-Myanmar border and the political unrest in the neighbouring country, he said.
Whereas the neighbouring States of Manipur are protected under the Constitution’s 6th Schedule, Manipur is most vulnerable to influx of illegal immigrants without any such protection, Ratankumar said.
Given the possibility of illegal immigrants making Manipur their home from being a place of sanctuary, there is a growing need for a sustained mass movement, he added.