Overview
- The Manipur Legislative Assembly has formally designated 1951 as the reference year for any future update of the National Register of Citizens and instructed the state to pursue clearance from the central government.
- Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam told the House that officials are tracing the original physical 1951 records and that Manipur cannot carry out an NRC updation without authorization from the Government of India.
- State institutions set up since 2022, including the Manipur State Population Commission and verification committees formed in 2023, are being used to prepare for an NRC, though field verification stopped after the May 3, 2023 crisis.
- The government reported that officials have detected 24,475 suspected illegal immigrants across Kamjong, Tengnoupal and Chandel and that 14,992 people have been pushed back or returned, with authorities saying 9,600 were sent to Myanmar.
- District authorities have been ordered to separate identified non-citizens from local communities and to manage returns through diplomatic channels, a cautious approach shaped by Assam’s unresolved NRC legal issues and by security concerns.