Imphal, Aug 23: Amid an escalating political and civil society campaign in Manipur, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has opposed growing demands for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state before the Census. In a statement issued on Sunday, the KZC welcomed the decennial Census initiated by the Central Government, saying an impartial enumeration exercise was necessary to establish verified demographic data. “Given the falsehoods and propaganda surrounding our population and demographic status during the Manipur conflict, an impartial Census is essential to establish facts and dispel unfounded claims,” the council said. The KZC also welcomed the proposed delimitation exercise, maintaining that political representation should be based on verified demographic data. On the demand for NRC before the Census, the council argued that the NRC is a national exercise and that no community or state government can unilaterally decide its timing or implementation. “Accordingly, there is no legitimate basis for any Manipur-based group or the State Government to dictate the timing or implementation of the national NRC exercise,” it stated. Questioning the rationale behind the demand, the KZC said calls for an NRC before the Census were largely based on what it termed “unsubstantiated allegations and speculation” regarding the Kuki-Zo community. According to the council, such demographic concerns should first be examined through credible and verified data, with the Census being the appropriate mechanism for establishing population figures and demographic trends. “Demanding an NRC before the completion and publication of Census 2027 results is premature and unjustified,” the council said. Citing the experience of Assam, the KZC noted that the NRC process there involved significant legal and administrative complexities, with around 19 lakh people excluded from the final list and several cases remaining under legal scrutiny. The statement comes at a time when the demand for an NRC exercise before Census 2027 has gathered momentum in Manipur's valley districts, with Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh publicly backing the proposal and a delegation of ruling legislators already taking up the issue with the Centre. The council urged stakeholders to allow the Census to proceed without obstruction and to respect the authority of the Central Government on matters relating to the NRC. “The Kuki-Zo Council therefore calls upon all concerned to allow the Census to proceed without obstruction, respect the authority of the Central Government over the NRC, and refrain from using demographic issues as instruments of communal propaganda or victimisation,” the statement added. The KZC's intervention comes against the backdrop of an intense agitation led by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) and several valley-based civil society organisations demanding “NRC before Census”. Over the past week, Manipur witnessed a 48-hour statewide strike, road blockades, office-locking drives, torch rallies and student protests that disrupted normal life across several valley districts. Earlier, three demonstrators were reportedly injured in police action during a protest outside the Directorate of Census Operations in Imphal East. Meanwhile, delegations of NDA legislators and civil society representatives have travelled to New Delhi seeking the Centre's intervention on the NRC-Census issue.