Congress Seeks Postponement of Census in Manipur

New Delhi, August 20, 2026: The Congress on Thursday demanded that the Census exercise in Manipur be immediately postponed in view of the violence and displacement in the state over the past three years, with Inner Manipur Lok Sabha MP Prof A Bimol Akoijam saying conducting the exercise under the prevailing circumstances would be an injustice to the people.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress office, Akoijam said around 60,000 people remained homeless due to the violence that began on May 3, 2023, with most of them still living in relief camps.

More than 10,000 houses have been destroyed and several villages completely devastated during the conflict, he said, adding that violence was continuing and had now spread to districts that were earlier considered safe, bringing more communities into its ambit.

Akoijam clarified that the Congress was not demanding cancellation of the Census but its postponement until conditions become conducive.

He questioned how house numbering and listing could be carried out in villages affected by violence when thousands of residents had been displaced and were living in relief camps.

“Accurate house listing of thousands of homeless people living in relief camps is practically impossible,” he said, adding that conducting the exercise in the present circumstances would amount to further injustice and humiliation for people who had already suffered for three years.

Akoijam said he had raised the issue in Parliament through a notice under Rule 377 and had also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking intervention.

The Congress MP also raised concerns over illegal migration through Manipur’s open border with Myanmar. He demanded that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process be completed before the Census so that an authentic database of citizens could be prepared.

He also suggested setting up Foreigners Tribunals in Manipur to identify non-citizens. Akoijam said conducting the Census without first verifying citizenship data could result in illegal migrants being recorded as legitimate citizens, which, he said, could adversely affect the rights of indigenous residents.

Akoijam said unresolved questions surrounding population data had persisted since the 2001 and 2011 Censuses. He referred to studies by independent scholars from universities in Bengaluru and IITs, who had said that the abnormal increase in Manipur’s population could not be explained by normal demographic factors.

He also cited a 2007 Gauhati High Court judgment, in which the population figures were viewed as highly questionable. He said the long-standing and unresolved questions surrounding Manipur’s population should be addressed before the new Census is undertaken.

The MP further pointed out that Manipur’s population growth rate had been substantially higher than that of neighbouring Chin State in Myanmar. He said the latest report had indicated a significant decline in the population of Chin State, even as Manipur witnessed a sharp increase.

The people of Manipur, he said, therefore wanted a credible and judicious process to distinguish between indigenous residents, illegal migrants and foreign nationals before a fresh Census is conducted.

NO NRC NO CENSUS | MANIPUR | 20.08.'26

NO NRC NO CENSUS | 11-19.08.'26