📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / NorthBCSingh
Politics
Centre Halts Census in Manipur Over Meitei-Naga NRC First Demands
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 01 Nov 2026, 05:00 AM
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The Union government has suspended the ongoing census in Manipur after Meitei and Naga groups pressed for the National Register of Citizens to be implemented before the count.
New Delhi announced the suspension of the 2024 decennial census in Manipur, citing escalating tensions after Meitei and Naga communities demanded that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be finalized before the population count proceeds. Officials said the move is intended to prevent further communal friction and to allow time for dialogue between the groups and the state administration.
The census, which was slated to begin in early 2024 across all districts of the northeastern state, is a key exercise for updating demographic data, allocating resources and planning development schemes. With the pause, data collection on population size, literacy, employment and other socio‑economic indicators will be delayed.
Union Home Ministry sources indicated that a review committee will monitor the situation and recommend when the census can safely resume. In the meantime, the central government urges both Meitei and Naga representatives to engage constructively to resolve the NRC issue, emphasizing that the census is a constitutional mandate that cannot be indefinitely deferred.
The census, which was slated to begin in early 2024 across all districts of the northeastern state, is a key exercise for updating demographic data, allocating resources and planning development schemes. With the pause, data collection on population size, literacy, employment and other socio‑economic indicators will be delayed.
Union Home Ministry sources indicated that a review committee will monitor the situation and recommend when the census can safely resume. In the meantime, the central government urges both Meitei and Naga representatives to engage constructively to resolve the NRC issue, emphasizing that the census is a constitutional mandate that cannot be indefinitely deferred.