An influential global body representing Manipur’s Meitei community has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Manipur before proceeding with the delimitation process.
The appeal follows the Supreme Court’s March 17 directive, which gave the Centre three months to complete the long-pending delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam. The process had been stalled despite a 2020 presidential order revoking its deferment.
In a letter to PM Modi, the Meitei Alliance emphasized the need for a contextualized NRC framework in Manipur to safeguard genuine citizens and ensure long-term political stability, security, and communal harmony. The organization warned that delimitation without addressing key security and demographic concerns could derail peace efforts being pursued by the government, civil society, and Manipur’s people—particularly its youth, who seek security and stability.
The Meitei Alliance cited historical records to claim that illegal immigration into Manipur has been rampant since India’s independence and the state’s integration into the Indian Union. It referred to a 1973 letter from then-MP P. Haokip to Union Home Minister K.C. Pant, in which Haokip acknowledged the presence of 1,500 Kuki refugee families from Myanmar in Manipur since 1967. Another document from the same year showed the Burma Kuki Refugees’ Association requesting financial aid and land for the displaced families, with the Centre eventually approving ₹3.92 lakh (equivalent to ₹23 lakh today, adjusted for inflation).
The Meitei Alliance argued that, under the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955, illegal immigrants and refugees cannot be granted Indian citizenship. However, it alleged that many such immigrants in Manipur have not only obtained Indian citizenship but are also availing Scheduled Tribe (ST) benefits, violating constitutional provisions and encouraging further illegal immigration. The letter stressed the urgent need to review citizenship records and update the NRC to rectify wrongful inclusions, ensuring the protection of indigenous communities and maintaining social harmony.
The organization further claimed that Manipur is facing a systematic constitutional breakdown, which requires urgent intervention before delimitation can proceed. It accused vested interests of fueling ongoing violence to prolong instability and push unconstitutional demands through terror tactics.
The letter also raised concerns about the 24 Kuki militant groups that have signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Centre and the Manipur government. The Meitei Alliance alleged that peace and law enforcement cannot be restored as long as these armed groups continue to violate the agreement’s ground rules with impunity. It accused their leaders of orchestrating violence while simultaneously adopting deceptive roles to weaken Manipur’s territorial integrity.
The Meitei Alliance is one of two key organizations—alongside the Thadou Inpi Manipur, a major civil body of the Thadou tribe—that have come together on a common platform for the first time since ethnic violence erupted in Manipur in May 2023. The two groups described their March 8 meeting as a “historic and significant moment” for fostering dialogue and unity.
