IMPHAL, Sept 6: Women vendors at Manipur’s Khwairamband Ima Market on Sunday urged the government to act with “sincerity and honesty” on the demand to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying the issue should not be used as a political tool.
Speaking at a press conference at Ima Market, vendor Asem Nirmala said the state’s indigenous population was gradually declining amid concerns over the growth of unauthorised villages and the influx of illegal immigrants.
Nirmala said updating the NRC with 1951 as the base year was necessary to protect the indigenous population. She alleged that successive political leaders had failed to show the seriousness needed to advance the demand.
She said the Manipur Legislative Assembly had twice adopted resolutions urging the Centre to update the NRC before the Census, but no concrete action had followed. She also called for the effective functioning of the Manipur State Population Commission, constituted in 2022, citing growing demographic concerns.
“We do not want just another resolution. We want to know from the government how and when it will be implemented,” Nirmala said.
