A day of mounting tension gripped Manipur on August 27 as Meira Paibi women staged a massive torchlight procession in Imphal, demanding an updated National Register of Citizens before the national Census. In Kangpokpi district, two separate incidents; an alleged attack on farmers and the vandalism of a CRPF-escorted medical convoy further highlighted ethnic and security tensions across the state. Hundreds of Meira Paibi activists, organised by the North Imphal Meira and Clubs Coordinating Committee under the Campaign for Justice and Fair Delimitation (JFD), marched through the night carrying flaming torches. The procession began at Koirengei village, proceeded along National Highway-2 and culminated near Liberal College in Luwangsangbam. Heavy police deployment accompanied the rally.
The demonstrators repeated a demand that has led protests across Manipur since mid-August. They said the NRC must be updated before any Census exercise begins, and the Census itself should be deferred until that process is complete. Similar torch marches had already taken place along Tiddim Road on August 23 and in Imphal on August 20. The JFD’s statewide campaign, which intensified from August 16, has seen marches on Uripok-Kangchup Road, Kongba Road, Khurai-Lamlong and other stretches. Activists also approached Deputy Commissioners’ offices to press the government. Civil society groups argue that conducting the Census without first settling citizenship questions risks embedding demographic disputes into official records. While the capital witnessed organised and largely peaceful protests, the hill district of Kangpokpi recorded two violent incidents on the same day. In the morning, around 9:20 am, three Kuki organisations; the M. Wakotphai Village Authority, Tah Chapa Village Volunteers (Western Zone) and Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers (KZVV) Twilang Lhang alleged that armed cadres linked to the NSCN-IM and ZUF(K) attacked unarmed farmers at Wakotphai village in the Twilang area along the Imphal-Tamenglong Road. According to the village authority, the assault was unprovoked. The KZVV claimed that the victims had spent the night in a paddy-field hut near Naibet and were targeted by a combined group of Tangkhul-Liangmei Naga militants operating under NSCNIM leadership. Tah Chapa volunteers said their members intervened in a “purely defensive” counter-action after the farmers came under fire while working their fields. The groups also complained of repeated obstruction of civilian movement on the Imphal-Tamenglong Road. They called for adequate security deployment, a review of the ceasefire with NSCN-IM, identification and arrest of those responsible, and an impartial investigation.
