Manipur NRC base year to be 1951, says home minister Govindas Konthoujam

Manipur home minister Govindas Konthoujam said on Monday (Sept 7) that the base year for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state will be 1951 and that the government will pursue the matter with the Centre in line with resolutions adopted by the state Legislative Assembly. Konthoujam made the statement while replying to a question by Opposition MLA K. Meghachandra Singh on the updation of the NRC in Manipur and the original physical records of the 1951 NRC. ADVERTISEMENT Stay connected Make The News Mill your preferred source See more TNM stories when you search for news on Google. Add TNM on Google The minister said efforts are underway to trace the original records of the 1951 NRC. He added that the state government cannot implement the NRC without approval from the Centre. He said the Manipur State Population Commission has already been constituted in accordance with a resolution adopted by the Assembly on August 5, 2022. ADVERTISEMENT Govindas Konthoujam said the issue of the NRC should be handled cautiously, referring to the ongoing legal proceedings related to the NRC in Assam. He said the Manipur government had pursued the Centre for implementation of the NRC in the state following the Assembly's resolution of March 1, 2024, which reaffirmed its earlier decision. He added that the Assembly unanimously passed another resolution on September 2, 2026, reaffirming its earlier decisions on the issue. 'We need to cautiously move the Centre so that it would not fail like that of Assam,' he said. ADVERTISEMENT 24,475 illegal immigrants detected Replying to another question by Opposition MLA Th. Lokeshwar Singh on illegal immigrants in Manipur, the home minister said 24,475 illegal immigrants have been detected in the state so far. Of them, 6,545 were detected in Kamjong district, 3,560 in Tengnoupal district and 14,370 in Chandel district. Responding to a supplementary question, Konthoujam said some of the illegal immigrants had been pushed back, while others remained in the state under shelter. He said the process of pushing them back was being carried out through diplomatic channels. The minister said the government had constituted a 12-member committee on August 7, 2024, under the chairmanship of former minister Awangbow Newmai to detect and identify the influx of illegal immigrants and the unnatural growth of new villages. He said the government had also issued an order on the Action Taken Report of the committee. A Cabinet Sub-Committee was constituted on February 16, 2023, under the chairmanship of former Tribal Affairs minister Letpao Haokip, with former ministers Awangbow Newmai and Th. Basanta Kumar Singh as members, he said. The state Home Department also constituted an official Executive Committee on March 24, 2023, headed by commissioner S. Chourasia, with IGP K. Kabib, district commissioners, superintendents of police, SDOs and SDPOs as members. The committee was tasked with verifying illegal immigrants and assisting the Cabinet Sub-Committee. Konthoujam said the verification drive had begun but could not continue following the crisis that broke out in the state on May 3, 2023. 14,992 pushed back Of the 24,475 illegal immigrants detected, 14,992 have been pushed back, the minister said. In Kamjong district, 5,378 of the 6,545 detected immigrants have been pushed back to their country, while the remaining 1,167 have been sheltered in government camps set up in community halls. In Tengnoupal, only 14 of the 3,560 detected immigrants have been pushed back. The remaining 3,546 have been instructed to remain under the supervision of the respective district commissioner after their biometric records were taken, so that they cannot move to other areas. In Chandel, 9,600 of the 14,370 detected immigrants have been pushed back to Myanmar. Biometric records have been taken of 1,308 of the remaining 4,770, the minister said. The remaining immigrants are being kept in temporary shelters, according to the government. In Kamjong, 1,167 immigrants are staying at Namli, Wanglee, Kaka, Zoro, Iko, Skipi, Huimin Thana and Phaikoh. In Tengnoupal, 3,546 are staying in Sadang village areas along the India-Myanmar border. In Chandel, 4,770 are being kept at Molcham, Gamphajol, Khangtung, L. Nampao, Yaingol, Bongjang, Kheljang, New Lajang and nearby villages. The home minister also said the government had instructed the respective district commissioners to segregate the illegal immigrants from local Indian communities.