Will recommend implementation of NRC in Manipur: CM Biren Singh

Guwahati: Days after the Manipur Assembly adopted a resolution recommending to the Centre for implementation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC), CM N Biren Singh on Wednesday said his government will soon write to the Centre for implementing NRC in the state.

"The state can not implement a NRC. The Assembly has adopted a resolution and so the state government will soon write to the Centre with a recommendation for implementing the NRC," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Imphal. Singh said 1961 would be the base year for the NRC.

On March 1, Manipur Assembly re-endorsed a private member's resolution that sought to recommend to the Centre for implementing NRC. The resolution was moved by K Leishiyo, a Naga People's Front MLA. The resolution re-affirmed a similar resolution which was passed by the Assembly in August 2022.

Opposition by the Kukis

The March 1 resolution was endorsed by the MLAs belonging to the majority MLAs representing the Meitei-dominated constituencies and by some Naga legislators. But at least 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, including seven belonging to the BJP did not attend the Assembly session when the resolution was adopted last week. In fact, the Kuki MLAs even wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah conveying their opposition to the resolution for NRC.

Singh's announcement came amid the ongoing conflict involving the Meitei and the Kuki communities in which 220 people have died and over 60,000 others displaced since May last year.

Many organisations representing the Meitei communities demand that an NRC is required in Manipur in order to detect "illegal migrants" from neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh. Chin-Kuki migrants from Myanmar are the main target of those demanding a NRC.

Meiteis claim that "illegal migration" posed a threat to the identity and land rights of the indigenous communities and this was one of the triggers of the ongoing conflict with the Kukis. The Kuki groups, on the other hand, say by demanding a NRC, the Meiteis are trying to brand all Kukis and illegal migrants and thereby erase their history and contributions as Indians.

Why has 1961 been selected as the 'Base Year' for NRC in Manipur?

Biren Singh said the state government would recommend 1961 as the base year for implementation of the NRC as the same was accepted for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Manipur in 2020.

The ILP was introduced in Manipur following the strong anti-CAA agitations. Under the ILP, anyone from outside Manipur is required to take a travel permit for visiting the state. But such travel permits are not required for those who lived in Manipur before 1961. The ILP system is in place in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.