Students and Civil Groups Call for Strike in Manipur Over Census and NRC Demands

The Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) Student Wing has announced a two day general strike in Manipur starting midnight on August 17. Protesters are demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be implemented using 1951 as the base cut off year before the state begins its Census 2027 operations. The house listing phase of the census is scheduled to begin with self enumeration on August 17, followed by main operations from September 1 to September 30.

Protests occurred across the Imphal valley, including rallies along Tiddim Road and demonstrations at CC Higher Secondary School. The state's largest commercial hub, Khwairamband Keithel, remained closed after women's markets held public meetings in support of the strike. The JFD has received support from various civil society organizations, including the United Meitei Naga Committee Manipur, the Federation of Naga Civil Society (FNCC), and the United Meitei Pangal Committee.

Violence erupted on the DM University campus when students attempted to stop census related training at the DM College of Teacher Education and Hindi Teacher Training College. Both sources report that at least two students were injured during a police lathicharge used to control the crowd. Additionally, the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) expressed opposition to reports of a possible land swap between India and Myanmar, citing concerns over territorial integrity.

While both reports cover the same events, they differ in focus. The center leaning report emphasizes the broad scale of the civil society coalition and the disruption to normal activities. The center right leaning report focuses more on the police perspective regarding the injuries and includes additional demands from protesters regarding the resettlement of internally displaced persons.