Shah refused to disclose how the government would identify illegal migrants, saying revealing the methods could help those being targeted evade detection.
BY PC Bureau
September 13, 2026:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Centre had not yet decided the baseline year for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur and was still consulting allies and political parties in the state.
Asked whether 1951 would be used as the cut-off, Shah said any decision would be announced only after the consultations.
“We are discussing these issues with our allies and also with the political parties of Manipur. Whatever decision is taken, we will inform you,” he told reporters in Mumbai.
The choice of a baseline year has become one of the most contentious aspects of the proposed exercise. Sections of the Meitei community have demanded that 1951 be used as the reference point for determining citizenship and identifying alleged illegal migrants.
The demand has also been repeatedly endorsed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly. State government spokesperson and BJP MLA Sapam Ranjan said the Assembly had taken repeated calls for conducting the NRC before the Census and had included 1951 as the base year in a resolution during its last sitting.
Addressing a press briefing in Imphal, Ranjan said the state government and the people of Manipur had been pursuing the demand that the NRC should precede the Census. He also linked the issue to the Centre’s decision to postpone the Census in the state.
#WATCH | Mumbai: When asked whether the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be implemented in Manipur using the 1951 baseline before the elections, and whether there is a deadline for implementing the NRC nationwide, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “We are discussing… pic.twitter.com/wLDEfRoQ6g
— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2026
“Now, after the postponement of the census, now the issue is for the NRC,” Ranjan said, stressing that the state government continued to regard the exercise as a priority.
He said the Assembly had “unanimously” taken repeated calls for an NRC before the Census and had incorporated 1951 as its base year.
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The demand has assumed greater political significance since the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur, with questions of migration, citizenship, land and demographic change becoming central to competing political narratives in the state.
The issue also extends beyond Manipur, with several northeastern states having long-standing concerns over migration and changes in population patterns. Any decision on the Manipur baseline is therefore likely to have wider political implications in the region.
Imphal, Manipur: State Government spokesperson and BJP MLA Sapam Ranjan says, “A very good afternoon to all. We are here today for a press briefing. It is regarding the closure of the government offices by the JFD in regard to the call for NRC before the census. As all of us… pic.twitter.com/JONz9RhAUS
— IANS (@ians_india) September 13, 2026
Shah was also asked how the government would detect illegal migrants. He refused to spell out the methods, arguing that public disclosure could help those targeted evade identification.
“You are asking the Home Minister to make the tools public and tell you how it will be done. Then how will we catch them?” he said.
He repeated the Centre’s pledge to identify illegal infiltrators “one by one” and send them out of the country.
For now, however, Shah’s remarks leave the key question unresolved: whether the Centre will accept 1951 as the baseline for the proposed Manipur NRC, despite the state Assembly’s repeated demand for that cut-off.
