Manipur's Indigenous People's Forum Sounds Caution On "Demographic Shift"

Manipur's population growth, fuelled by illegal immigration, is surpassing natural population growth with severe implications for the socio-political landscape, a key civil society group in the border state told reporters in Delhi today.

The impact of this migration is particularly evident in areas like Jiribam district, where the population surged by 80.22 per cent between 1951 and 2011, Indigenous People's Forum Manipur (IPFM) said.

IPFM chief Ashang Kasar pointed at what he called "another key concern" and raised the matter of "unnatural growth of villages in some hill districts of Manipur between 1969 and 2001."

After Manipur's merger with India, the state experienced unusually high decadal growth rates, consistently exceeding 30 per cent for three decades, the IPFM said, adding between 2001 and 2011, the growth rate remained high at 24.5 per cent.

"A decadal growth rate of 42 per cent is considered unnatural, raising questions about the factors driving this rapid expansion. A striking example of this phenomenon is the rapid proliferation of villages in non-indigenous dominated districts, particularly in Kangpokpi and Churachandpur," the IPFM, which is affiliated to the North East Indigenous People's Forum (NEIPF), said.

Mr Kasar and IPFM general secretary Newme Heg Ramtahungbe's comments come amid tension over carrying out the delimitation exercise in the state hit by ethnic violence between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes.

The Supreme Court on March 17 gave the Centre three months to complete the delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam, after raising concerns over the delay despite a 2020 presidential order rescinding the deferment of the process.

Meitei organisations and political leaders have also asked the Centre to carry out the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Manipur before starting the process of delimitation. They said Manipur's systematic constitutional breakdown needs intervention before proceeding with the delimitation exercise, and alleged the ongoing violence is not incidental, but rather fuelled by vested interests who want to prolong instability and enforce unconstitutional demands through terror.

At the Delhi press briefing today, Mr Kasar's organisation said Manipur's demographic shift is not just a matter of population growth, but is also linked to broader geopolitical and security concerns, including the actions of the Myanmar junta.

"The influx of people and the strategic expansion of settlements in these areas have far-reaching implications for governance, resource distribution and ethnic dynamics in the region," the IPFM said.

At least 966 new villages are seeking recognition in addition to the 2,803 existing villages, the IPFM said. These new villages are concentrated in districts such as Kangpokpi (308), Churachandpur (281), Chandel (205), Tengnoupal (130), Senapati (27), Pherzawl (14), and Ukhrul (5).

However, there is a discrepancy in the total number of new villages (970), as the exact count continues to fluctuate. The growth of villages in Manipur, as recorded in the Manipur gazette, reveals significant demographic shifts across different regions, Mr Kasar said.

The IPFM asked the government to look into demographic challenges, imbalances and shifts urgently as "indigenous communities face an existential threat to their identity, culture, and rights."

"The incessant influx of illegal immigrants, the unnatural growth of villages, and the changing political dynamics must be carefully dealt with to ensure that the indigenous people of Manipur are not marginalized, sidelined and outnumbered by illegal immigrants," the IPFM said in a statement in Delhi.