Overview
- Valley groups have intensified protests calling for the National Register of Citizens to be updated before the decennial Census, and those actions have halted enumerator training and some preparatory work in several districts.
- Kuki‑Zo organisations, led by the Kuki‑Zo Council, have publicly opposed delaying the Census and warned that an NRC push is premature and risks communal targeting based on unverified claims.
- The High Court of Manipur on Tuesday formed a Special Division Bench to hear a writ petition challenging the conduct of the Census in the state, bringing the matter into urgent judicial review.
- Central authorities have paused final decisions as the Registrar General and Census Commissioner and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs assess the situation before confirming whether the House‑listing and Housing Census scheduled for September 1–30 will proceed.
- The dispute reflects deeper anxieties from the 2023 ethnic violence over displacement and alleged cross‑border migration and could shape political representation during the next delimitation if Census data are contested.