Overview
- A 48-hour shutdown enforced by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation closed markets, stopped public transport and kept schools shut across five Imphal Valley districts during protests over the sequencing of the NRC and Census.
- The Census 2027 self-enumeration phase began on August 17, and the state’s insistence on doing an NRC first has created a direct clash between local demands and the scheduled house‑listing from September 1 to 30.
- Manipur’s government publicly backed NRC-before-Census, dispatched a delegation of MLAs to New Delhi to press the Centre for a decision, and senior figures including former chief minister N. Biren Singh reported positive responses after meetings with Union Home Ministry leaders.
- Security forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators during attempts to block census offices, activists reported injuries, and the state ordered closure of all educational institutions from August 20 to 23 citing law and order concerns.
- Tribal councils demand using 1951 as the NRC base year and want Census and delimitation deferred until NRC completion while the Congress called for resettlement of roughly 60,000 internally displaced people before any census operations proceed.