IMPHAL: The Manipur government has frozen the administrative boundaries of all districts, tehsils and villages in the state to facilitate the upcoming census exercise, even as civil society organisations and political groups intensify demands for an update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before any population enumeration is undertaken.

In an official order signed by Additional Secretary (Home) Ahanthem Subhash Singh, the Governor of Manipur, exercising powers under Clause (iv) of Rule 8 of the Census Rules, 1990, notified that all administrative boundaries will remain frozen from January 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. The order said the measure was necessary to ensure the smooth conduct of census operations.

The decision comes against the backdrop of mounting concerns over conducting a census amid prolonged ethnic unrest, large-scale displacement and allegations of illegal immigrationin the state. Several civil society organisations have argued that enumeration without first addressing these issues could distort demographic data and have long-term political and adminis trative consequences.

On December 27, 2025, a conclave of political parties organised by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation at Lamyanba Shanglen, Konung Lampak, resolved to seek postponement of the census in Manipur. The participants demanded that census operations be deferred until complete normalcy is restored, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are resettled in their original villages, free movement is ensured and normal administration resumes across the state.

They also stressed the need to identify illegal immigrants through an updated NRC or a similar mechanism before any enumeration exercise. Echoing similar concerns, the Joint Committee Opposing Delimitation Exercise in Manipur (Kanglei-pak), or JCODEM, has repeatedly warned that proceeding with the census without updating the NRC could have se- rious implications for the state.

The committee pointed out that Manipur has long relied on provisional and disputed census figures from 2001, as the final report was never released due to allegations of largescale irregularities and bogus entries. JCODEM has also flagged unusually high decadal population growth rates recorded between 1991 and 2001, particularly in Chandel district, which registered a growth rate of 66.62 percent-far above the state average of 24.86 per cent and the national average of 21.98 per cent during the same period.

According to the committee, these anomalies underscore the risks of conducting fresh enumer- ation without first addressing questions of illegal immigration. The freezing of administrative boundaries has once again brought the issues of census, NRC and delimitation to the forefront of public debate in Manipur, with multiple stakeholders calling for transparency, safeguards and political consensus before proceeding with any major demographic exercise in the conflict-hit state.

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