The Centre has put the entire Manipur Census 2027 exercise on hold until further notice after Meitei and Naga civil society organisations demanded that a National Register of Citizens be prepared before the population count. The Registrar General of India has excluded Manipur from the next phase of the nationwide census schedule, extending an earlier suspension of house-listing in the state.
The RGI notified the schedule on Friday for the next phase of Census 2027, which is due to begin on January 25. Manipur was listed among the states and Union territories excluded from the exercise “till further declaration”. The other exclusions are Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
In the states and Union territories covered by the schedule, self-enumeration will be available from January 10 to 24, followed by house-to-house enumeration from January 25. Population enumeration will continue until February 28, with a revisional round scheduled from March 1 to 5. The reference date for the exercise is 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.
In Manipur, only the house-listing phase had initially been suspended. The Registrar General of India kept it in abeyance from September after Meitei and Naga civil society groups sought an NRC before the census. The groups have cited concerns over alleged illegal immigration, demographic change and the need for a verified record of the state’s indigenous population.
The demand has also received support from the Manipur Legislative Assembly. The Assembly adopted a resolution in 2022 seeking an NRC before the census and reaffirmed the position in 2024. The issue has therefore moved beyond civil society demands and become part of the state’s formal legislative position.
The suspension also follows judicial intervention. On September 5, the Manipur high court directed that house-listing be kept in abeyance. The Centre’s decision to defer the exercise came after a meeting between Union home minister Amit Shah and Manipur chief minister Y Khemchand Singh in New Delhi on the same day, according to the report.
The exclusion means that Manipur will not participate in the January-February enumeration schedule announced for most of the country. The RGI has not announced a fresh date for the state and has left its inclusion open to a further declaration. Until then, the state’s census-related population enumeration and the preceding house-listing process will remain suspended.
