📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ginza Vualzong
Politics
Kuki‑Zo Council Turns Down Call for NRC Ahead of Manipur Census
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 24 Aug 2026, 01:37 AM
👁 4
The Kuki‑Zo Council has rejected proposals to implement the National Register of Citizens before the upcoming Manipur census, citing concerns over timing and community impact.
The Kuki‑Zo Council, the representative body of the Kuki‑Zo community in Manipur, announced that it will not endorse calls for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be conducted before the state's scheduled decennial census. The council said the demand, raised by certain political factions, is premature and could interfere with the census process.
Council officials explained that the census, due later this year, is the appropriate mechanism for updating demographic data, and that imposing an NRC beforehand might disrupt the exercise and heighten communal tensions.
They urged both state and central authorities to concentrate on ensuring a smooth census and to address any citizenship concerns through legal channels after the census results are finalized.
The stance arrives amid ongoing debates in Manipur over ethnic identity, land rights and political representation, where some groups have pushed for an NRC as a tool to curb alleged illegal immigration.
No official comment from the central government has been recorded yet; the council said it will continue to monitor developments and engage with authorities to safeguard the rights of the Kuki‑Zo community.
Council officials explained that the census, due later this year, is the appropriate mechanism for updating demographic data, and that imposing an NRC beforehand might disrupt the exercise and heighten communal tensions.
They urged both state and central authorities to concentrate on ensuring a smooth census and to address any citizenship concerns through legal channels after the census results are finalized.
The stance arrives amid ongoing debates in Manipur over ethnic identity, land rights and political representation, where some groups have pushed for an NRC as a tool to curb alleged illegal immigration.
No official comment from the central government has been recorded yet; the council said it will continue to monitor developments and engage with authorities to safeguard the rights of the Kuki‑Zo community.