After the Census Pause, Manipur Needs a Credible NRC Roadmap
The decision to defer the Census house-listing exercise in Manipur is a significant concession to a sustained public demand. It deserves acknowledgement. But the…
News archive
Category: The Signpost View
A Letter to Amit Shah Is Not Enough: Will Naga MLAs Raise These Allegations in the Manipur Assembly?
A circulated letter bearing the names of nine Naga legislators seeks action against Kuki-Zo leaders, KNF-P leader Thangboi Kipgen and Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen. But sending allegations to Delhi is not enough. Will the legislators place them before the Manipur Assembly, demand answers and act on their warning about continued support for the Government?
Will Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen Attend the Manipur Assembly in Person?
Will Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen attend the September 2 Manipur Assembly sitting in person—or participate once again through a video link? Her physical presence would be more than protocol. It would test the Government’s claims of improving normalcy, free movement and shared constitutional governance.
Was the National Highway Opened to Citizens—or Only to Selected Buses?
The return of the Imphal–Dimapur–Guwahati service deserves credit, but the August 23 incident raises a harder question: can ordinary citizens travel independently along National…
Why Has Delhi Called Both Biren and Khemchand?
Why have both former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh reached Delhi at this critical moment?
The Centre has already heard Manipur’s NRC-before-Census demand from political leaders, legislators, students and civil society. What Manipur needs now is not another “positive meeting,” but a clear and accountable decision.
Read The Signpost View.
Why Manipur Can No Longer Avoid an NRC: The Government’s Own Records Make the Case
The debate over a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur is often framed as a political confrontation between communities. That framing misses the more fundamental issue. Manipur has a historical citizenship-documentation problem. Government of India records show that people crossed into Manipur from Burma decades ago, that the nationality of some of those migrants was difficult to establish, and that relief and rehabilitation proceeded even while questions over their precise status remained.
Manipur Was Counted Before 1951 — So Where Is the Evidence of Mass Exclusion?
The claim that remoteness may have left substantial indigenous hill populations outside the 1951 Census deserves examination. But Manipur’s documentary history stretches well before 1951, while the 1948 election provides another important pre-cut-off record. If mass exclusion is the argument against 1951, the historical evidence of that exclusion should be produced.
Another BJP Delegation — To Tell Delhi What?
N. Biren Singh has already met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and placed Manipur’s NRC and Census concerns before him, verbally and in writing.
Now another ruling BJP delegation is preparing for Delhi while students and civil society organisations demanding NRC before Census continue their protests in Imphal.
When Meitei Women Win Medals, India Applauds. When They Defend Their Homeland, They Face Force
Mirabai’s tears on the medal podium were celebrated as national pride. The tears of Meitei girl students after police action at DM College of Teacher Education must not be dismissed as disorder. Both come from the same brave and indigenous root.
August 16, Twenty-Two Years After Pebam Chittaranjan’s Death: What Has Manipur Learned?
On the day Manipur remembered Pebam Chittaranjan and the anti-AFSPA struggle, another generation of students alleged excessive police force while protesting over the deferment of census and implementation of NRC. The two events are different, but together they raise an enduring question about state power, accountability and democratic rights.
Manipur’s Peace Test Begins After the Independence Day Speeches End
Independence Day brought a renewed call for mutual trust, justice and dignity. Manipur must now translate those promises into measurable action.
1,574 Search Operations Later, Manipur Still Cannot Call It Peace
As India prepares to celebrate Independence Day, Manipur must confront a difficult question: can citizens be considered truly free when their movement, safety and…