Manipur Shuts Schools Amid Protests Demanding NRC Before Census

The Manipur government ordered the closure of all educational institutions for three days, from August 20 to August 22, citing the prevailing law-and-order situation.

This decision follows intensified large-scale protests demanding the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with 1951 as the base year, before the Census exercise. The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) and local civil society groups escalated their agitation as the government scheduled training sessions for census workers, leading to the cancellation of these sessions in several valley districts.

Hundreds of students have taken to the streets in Imphal. The JFD called for a two-day shutdown starting Tuesday and announced a boycott of central and state government offices from Thursday. During the protests, bandh supporters burnt effigies of Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh and Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam at Khurai Lamlong in Imphal East district.

Market places, educational institutions, and public transport were affected in five valley districts, including Imphal West, Imphal East, Kakching, Thoubal, and Bishnupur. The house-listing phase of Census 2027 in Manipur is scheduled to run from September 1 to September 30. The United Naga Council also reiterated its demand to defer the Census and delimitation until NRC implementation.

The Trump administration is also attempting to add a citizenship question to the 2030 Census, a move previously blocked by the Supreme Court for the 2020 Census.