Archive · 17 Aug 2026
Manipur Students Demand NRC Before Census; Police Fire Tear Gas
In the Indian state of Manipur, students are upset with the government.
The government wants to start a Census, which is a giant list of every person living in the country.
But the students want a different list called the NRC to be made first, because it helps find people living in the country without permission.
The students worried that if the Census happens first, the NRC will never be done.
So they gathered outside a government office in Imphal and shouted, 'No NRC, No Census.'
They even tried to lock the office gate.
Police fired tear gas, a smoke that makes eyes sting, to send the crowd away, and one student got a small injury.
The day before, the students had stopped a training class for Census workers at a college.
The students believe the NRC is important to save future generations, but the government plans to start the Census anyway on August 17.
Student protesters in Manipur demanded that no Census activity be undertaken before the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is implemented in the state.
Police fired tear gas shells to disperse protesters outside the Directorate of Census Operations at Porompat in Imphal East district, leaving one protester with minor injuries.
Hundreds of students also rallied from Tiddim Road in Imphal West for nearly 2 km, demanding NRC implementation and the return of internally displaced people (IDPs) to their original homes.
Protesters disrupted a census training programme at Moirang College in Bishnupur district on Friday and attempted to disrupt another at DM College of Teacher Education.
The house-listing phase of Census 2027 is scheduled to begin with self-enumeration from August 17, with the main house-listing exercise from September 1 to 30.
School students of CC Higher Secondary School in Imphal East also came out on the streets to raise slogans demanding NRC.
- Who
- Student protesters from the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) Students' Wing, led by convenor Naorem Wangamba, and police in Manipur
- What
- Demonstrations and rallies demanding NRC implementation before the Census, dispersed by police with tear gas
- When
- Article 1 reports the protest on Sunday, August 16, while Article 2 reports a rally on Monday; both occurred a day before the Census 2027 house-listing phase was scheduled to begin
- Where
- Outside the Directorate of Census Operations at Porompat in Imphal East district, Tiddim Road in Imphal West, Moirang College in Bishnupur district, and DM College of Teacher Education
- Why
- Protesters want the NRC conducted before the Census to identify illegal immigrants and address citizenship concerns, saying it is important to save future generations
Protesters (JFD Students' Wing)
Government
Order of NRC and Census
Protesters (JFD Students' Wing)
The NRC must be implemented in Manipur before any Census activity to identify illegal immigrants and protect future generations.
Government
The government is proceeding with the Census without carrying out the NRC first, continuing training programmes and the scheduled house-listing phase.
Internally displaced people and census
Protesters (JFD Students' Wing)
Internally displaced people must return to their original homes before any census activity is taken up.
Government
The government has not indicated any deferral of the census to address the return of IDPs.
- Event
- Student demonstrations and rallies demanding NRC before Census in Manipur
- Protesters
- Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) Students' Wing
- Location
- Directorate of Census Operations, Porompat, Imphal East district; Tiddim Road, Imphal West; Moirang College, Bishnupur district
- Date
- Sunday, August 16 (per Article 1) and Monday (per Article 2), ahead of Census 2027 house-listing phase
- Demand
- No Census activity before NRC implementation; IDPs must return to original homes before census activity
- Police action
- Fired tear gas shells; one protester suffered minor injuries
- Census 2027 schedule
- Self-enumeration from August 17; main house-listing from September 1-30
- Prior incidents
- Training programme disrupted at Moirang College on Friday; attempt to disrupt training at DM College of Teacher Education
