Hundreds of students held a rally in Imphal West on Monday, demanding the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur before the Census exercise begins. The protesters also called for internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to their original homes before any census activity takes place.

The rally was organised under the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) Student Wing. The protesters started from Tiddim Road and marched for nearly 2 km. They carried posters and raised slogans of “No NRC, No Census”. The students urged the government to defer the census exercise in the state until the NRC is completed.

The protesters said the NRC should come before the census to address concerns linked to citizenship identification and demographic changes in Manipur. They also demanded that people displaced from their homes return to their original places before officials begin population enumeration.

A separate protest took place at the DM College of Teacher Education in Imphal. A group of students, mostly girls, attempted to disrupt a census training programme. Security forces stopped the protesters from entering further and disrupting the training.

School students also joined the protests in another part of the state. Students from CC Higher Secondary School in Imphal East took to the streets and raised slogans demanding an NRC before the census.

The protests come as preparations for Census 2027 have started across India. The exercise will begin with the self-enumeration phase for house listing from August 17. The main house-listing operation is scheduled from September 1 to September 30.

The student protesters have opposed the census exercise in Manipur in its current schedule. They want the government to defer the process until the NRC is carried out. They have also linked their demand to the return of internally displaced people to their original homes.

The protests highlight concerns among sections of students over citizenship records and possible changes in Manipur’s population. The protesters want authorities to address these issues before the population count begins. Their main demand remains the implementation of the NRC first, followed by the census after displaced residents return to their original homes.