# Manipur civil society delegation heads to Delhi over NRC-Census row 2026-08-20T08:52:05+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet A 10-member delegation representing various communities and civil society organisations from Manipur left for New Delhi on Thursday to seek the Centre's intervention on the Census and National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercises. The delegation stressed that identification of genuine Indian citizens should precede the pending delimitation exercise in the state. The members said they would seek dialogue rather than confrontation and place their concerns before Union ministers, BJP leaders and Intelligence Bureau officials. The delegation, which includes Serto Kom of the Kom Union Manipur, SM Jalal of AMMOCOC, Gaikhiam Thaimei of RNYOM and Dr K Heera Kabui of the Kabui Union, will also seek a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Delhi visit comes amid intensifying agitation by the Just Fair Delimitation (JFD) over its demand for an NRC before the Census. Earlier, a team of MLAs and Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla also travelled to New Delhi separately to take the issue directly to the Centre. Meanwhile, the Manipur government has ordered the closure of all schools, colleges and higher educational institutions across the state from August 20 to 22, citing the prevailing law and order situation amid the agitation. The decision came as a 48-hour general strike called by the JFD was nearing its conclusion, with concerns over possible student participation in further protests. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The NRC-Census row in Manipur is rooted in the state's unique demographic anxieties and the ongoing delimitation process, which will redraw constituency boundaries based on population. The JFD and civil society groups fear that without an NRC first, non-citizens could be counted in the Census, inflating certain districts' populations and shifting political power away from indigenous communities. This mirrors similar tensions in Assam, where the 2019 NRC excluded over 19 lakh people. The next signal to watch is whether Home Minister Amit Shah grants a meeting and what assurance the Centre offers on sequencing the exercises. ## Coverage - assamtribune.com Reports delegation's statements and government order without editorial slant, using straight news style. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Amit Shah, Census, delimitation, Just Fair Delimitation, Manipur, NRC Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/manipur-civil-society-delegation-heads-to-delhi-over-nrc-census-row/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/manipur-civil-society-delegation-heads-to-delhi-over-nrc-census-row/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/