Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Polity & Governance
Why in News?
A recent high-level meeting in Delhi agreed to defer the Census exercise in the State, taking into account the feelings and aspirations of the people of Manipur.
- Demands – First, conduct the State’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise with 1951 as the base year.
- The demand has been raised by sections of:
- Meiteis
- Pangals (Meitei Muslims)
- Naga groups
- Legal intervention – Petitions filed before the Manipur High Court have sought directions to:
- Update or revise the NRC using 1951 as the base year.
- Address concerns about illegal migration from Myanmar.
- Conduct the Census only after resolving these issues.
- Key Issues – The Census is increasingly associated with broader societal concerns, including:
- Migration
- Identity
- Demographic change
- Citizenship
- Ethnic tensions
- Political representation
|
Census
|
- The Union Government has the power to order a census via a notification in the official Gazette.
- Operationalisation – Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Legal framework
- Census Act, 1948
- Union List as per the 7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
|
|
National Register of Citizens (NRC)
|
- NRC – It is an official record that documents individuals recognised as Indian citizens or residents based on established eligibility criteria.
- Historical background
- The origins of the NRC can be traced to India's first Census conducted after Independence in 1951.
- All Indian states were initially expected to compile similar registers.
All States were mandated to compile an NRC, but it was done only in Assam.
|
Reference
The Hindu | Census in Manipur
