Manipur Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam told the Assembly that 24,475 people have so far been identified as illegal immigrants in Chandel, Kamjong and Tengnoupal districts.
BY PC Bureau
September 7, 2026: The Manipur Assembly has reaffirmed 1951 as the cut-off year for identifying citizens under any National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the state, with the government now preparing to take the House’s decision to the Centre for approval.
Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam told the Assembly on September 7 that Manipur could not undertake an NRC exercise without the Centre’s clearance. Replying to Opposition MLA K. Meghachandra Singh, he said efforts were continuing to locate the original 1951 documents and that the state government would approach New Delhi once the Assembly’s latest resolution was formally communicated.
The issue has been repeatedly raised in the Assembly. A Population Commission was constituted following a resolution adopted on August 5, 2022. The House reiterated its demand on March 1, 2024, and once again adopted it unanimously on September 2, 2026.
Konthoujam cautioned that Manipur would have to proceed carefully, citing the experience of Assam, where the NRC process has remained entangled in litigation and the final list has not been formally made public.
“We need to cautiously move the Centre so that it would not fail like that of Assam,” he said.
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24,475 people identified as illegal immigrants
The minister also disclosed that 24,475 people have so far been identified as illegal immigrants in three districts bordering Myanmar.
Of them, 14,370 were identified in Chandel, 6,545 in Kamjong and 3,560 in Tengnoupal, according to figures placed before the Assembly.
The government has been examining reports of fresh influx as well as the emergence of new settlements along the border. A 12-member committee headed by former minister Awangbow Newmai was constituted on August 7, 2024, to examine the issue. The government has also issued an order concerning the committee’s action-taken report.
Earlier, the government had constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee on February 17, 2023, under then Tribal Affairs Minister Letpao Haokip, with Newmai and Th. Basanta Kumar Singh as members.
The Home Department subsequently formed an executive committee on March 24, 2023, headed by Commissioner S. Chourasia, with senior police and district officials tasked with verification and assisting the Cabinet panel. Konthoujam said the exercise was disrupted by the ethnic violence that erupted in the state on May 3, 2023.
Nearly 15,000 sent back across Myanmar border
According to the figures presented by the Home Minister, 14,992 of those identified have been sent back to Myanmar, while the remaining persons are staying in government camps or settlements close to the international boundary.
In Kamjong, 5,378 of the 6,545 identified persons have been sent back, leaving 1,167 in government camps at Namli, Wanglee, Kaka, Zoro, Iko, Skipi, Huimin Thana and Phaikoh.
In Tengnoupal, only 14 of the 3,560 identified persons have been returned, while 3,546 remain in the Sadang village area along the international border. Their biometrics have been recorded and the area is being monitored under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner.
In Chandel, 9,600 of the 14,370 identified persons have been sent back. Biometrics have been collected from 1,308 of the remaining 4,770 people, who are staying at locations including Molcham, Gamphajol, Khangtung, L. Nampao, Yaingol, Bongjang, Kheljang and New Lajang, as well as nearby villages.
The government has directed the respective Deputy Commissioners to keep the identified illegal immigrants separate from local Indian communities, the minister told the Assembly.
The latest Assembly move places the 1951 cut-off at the centre of Manipur’s proposed citizenship-verification exercise, but an actual NRC process will depend on the Centre’s approval and the availability and authentication of historical records.
