1951 will be considered base year for NRC, says Manipur home minister Konthoujam

Manipur will use 1951 as the base year for updating the National Register of Citizens, Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam told the state assembly on Monday. He said the government would continue pursuing the matter with India’s central government in line with resolutions adopted by the House.

Konthoujam said records from the 1951 NRC were being traced. He stressed that Manipur could not implement the register on its own without approval from the Government of India. The state’s population commission has already been established under an earlier assembly resolution.

“The issue of NRC should not be taken lightly,” Konthoujam told the House. Referring to Assam’s experience, he said Manipur needed to move carefully so its process would not fail in the same way. He also noted that Assam’s NRC had not been placed in the public domain and remained before the courts.

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The issue of NRC should not be taken lightly.

The minister said authorities had detected 24,475 illegal immigrants in Manipur. The largest number, 14,370, came from Chandel district, followed by 6,545 in Kamjong and 3,560 in Tengnoupal. He said some had been pushed back, while others remained in the state, with the process conducted through diplomatic channels.

The government has created several bodies to address the issue. A 12-member committee chaired by former minister Awangbow Newmai was formed in August 2024 to identify illegal immigration and investigate the unnatural growth of new villages. Konthoujam also cited a cabinet subcommittee formed in February 2023 and an executive committee established by the Home Department in March 2023 to verify immigrants and assist the cabinet panel.

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We need to cautiously move the centre so that it would not failed like that of Assam.