The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) has called a two-day general strike across Manipur from midnight on Monday, August 17, protesting the government’s decision to begin the Census without first updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Addressing a press conference in Imphal, JFD convenor Jeetendra Ningombam said the organisation had repeatedly urged the state government to complete the NRC updation before the Census but claimed that no action had been taken despite several protests.
Ningombam said the Census process, including self-enumeration, was scheduled to begin without addressing the demand. He said the demand was aimed at protecting the interests of future generations of indigenous people and warned that the agitation would be intensified if the government failed to respond after the strike.
The JFD said the strike was not intended to cause hardship to the public but had been called over what it described as continued government inaction. Civil society organisations representing the Naga and Meitei Pangal communities also attended the press conference and extended their support to the strike.
The JFD has been organising protests demanding NRC updation before the Census, with fresh demonstrations reported in several parts of Manipur on Monday.
