Manipur CM vows free and fair census

Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Friday assured that the state government is making all efforts to ensure a free and fair census in the state. “We are trying our level best,” Singh said briefly while responding to media queries on the sidelines of an event in Imphal.
The assurance comes amid mounting calls from civil society organisations (CSOs) to defer the census exercise until detection of illegal immigrants. Despite these demands, the state government on March 22 notified that house-listing operations for the 2027 Census will be conducted in Manipur between September 1 and September 30, 2026, with a self-enumeration option available from August 17 to August 31.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier notified that house-listing operations across India will be carried out between April 1 and September 30, 2026.
In Manipur, however, several organisations have voiced concern. The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (CJDF), backed by prominent CSOs, has demanded that the census be deferred until the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is updated to detect illegal immigrants. The CJDF convened a public discourse in Imphal on March 26, where leaders unanimously endorsed the call for postponement, arguing that conducting the census without prior verification would distort the demographic picture of the state.
The United Naga Council (UNC) has also joined the chorus, urging the government to postpone the exercise until long-standing concerns over demographic imbalance are addressed. The UNC cautioned that enumeration without citizenship verification risks incorporating non-citizens, thereby vitiating demographic records. It further warned that holding the census amid ongoing ethnic conflict and displacement could inflame tensions among communities already living in mistrust.
CSO leaders highlighted that thousands displaced by nearly three years of violence remain in relief camps, making the current situation unsuitable for census operations. They also pointed to administrative failures in certain parts of the state, stressing that a rushed census would adversely impact policy-making.
The discourse resolved that census operations in Manipur should only be undertaken after updating the NRC. A joint statement issued by participating CSOs reiterated that the exercise must be deferred until the prevailing issues are resolved.
While the state government has maintained its commitment to a fair process, the growing demand for deferment underscores the deep mistrust and demographic anxieties in Manipur as the census approaches.