Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to visit Manipur in the first week of October, with the proposed visit coming amid an intensified political and civil-society campaign for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census and delimitation exercises.

According to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Shah will lay the foundation stone for a medical college in Senapati district and oversee other development projects during his visit.

The proposed visit was discussed during Shah’s meeting with Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh in Delhi on Wednesday. The Chief Minister’s Secretariat said the Home Minister also assured that the Centre would fulfil the wishes of the people of Manipur.

Shah’s first Manipur visit since April 2024

The October visit will be Shah’s first trip to Manipur since April 15, 2024, when he addressed an election rally in Imphal.

His previous extended visit came from May 29 to June 1, 2023, shortly after ethnic violence broke out in the state. During that four-day visit, Shah met representatives of different communities, political parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

At least 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless since May 2023 due to ethnic violence in Manipur’s hill districts.

Following continued clashes and the resignation of then Chief Minister N Biren Singh, President’s Rule was imposed in the state on February 13, 2025. It was lifted on February 4, nearly a year later, after which Yumnam Khemchand Singh became Chief Minister.

Medical college planned in Senapati

The Manipur cabinet recently decided to establish a medical college in Senapati district, which is predominantly inhabited by the Naga community.

The proposed Senapati Medical College is expected to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the hill district while expanding access to medical education and creating employment opportunities.

During his proposed October visit, Shah is expected to lay the foundation stone for the project.

NRC-before-Census demand gains momentum

Shah’s proposed visit comes as the demand for updating the NRC before the Census and delimitation exercises gains political momentum in Manipur.

Those supporting the demand argue that identification of genuine Indian citizens should take place before the Census and subsequent delimitation process.

The issue has also reached New Delhi, with a group of Manipur legislators travelling to the national capital to raise the demand with Central leaders. The legislators have been meeting Union ministers and seeking the Centre’s intervention.

Separately, a delegation representing 14 civil society organisations from Manipur is also in Delhi for discussions with Union ministers and Central officials.

Led by 14-CSO Convenor Shanta Nahakpam, the delegation represents different sections and communities of the state and has been seeking citizenship identification before the Census and delimitation exercises.

The parallel efforts by legislators and civil society groups underline the political significance of the NRC issue in Manipur.

At the same time, the sequencing of the NRC, Census and delimitation remains a sensitive matter, with differing views among communities in the state. Any citizenship-identification exercise would therefore involve questions around legality, transparency and representation.

Focus on road connectivity and return to normalcy

The proposed visit also comes as the state government highlights improvements in road connectivity as signs of a gradual return to normalcy.

The Chief Minister’s Secretariat said Shah praised the state government for restoring bus services and ensuring free movement along National Highway-2.

Improved road transport is particularly significant for residents who have faced disrupted movement and higher travel costs, as affordable bus services provide an alternative to air travel.

October visit carries wider significance

Shah’s proposed return to Manipur comes at a time when the state is attempting to move from prolonged disruption towards greater stability.

While the Centre and state government are highlighting development work and improved connectivity, the NRC-before-Census demand has emerged as a major political and civil-society issue.

The October visit could therefore provide an opportunity for direct engagement with concerns being raised by the state’s elected representatives and civil society groups.

For Manipur, the larger challenge remains restoring confidence and ensuring that development, political dialogue and engagement with different communities move together.

Karnataka Minister B Nagendra has offered to resign from the cabinet amid mounting pressure from the opposition BJP over alleged financial irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.

Nagendra made the offer on Wednesday as the BJP intensified its protests demanding his removal from the cabinet over the alleged Rs 89 crore irregularities linked to the corporation.

Sources said Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has asked Nagendra to wait until he holds discussions with the Congress high command.

Valmiki corporation case

The controversy came to light after corporation accounts officer Chandrasekharan P died by suicide in May 2024. He left behind a note alleging unauthorised transfers of funds.

Subsequent investigations alleged that large amounts of money were transferred from the corporation’s bank accounts to various accounts, triggering a political controversy and demands for action against Nagendra.

Nagendra was the Tribal Welfare Minister in the Siddaramaiah government at the time and resigned from the cabinet in June 2024 amid the controversy.

He was later re-inducted into the Karnataka cabinet on August 3 after DK Shivakumar became Chief Minister.

The latest development comes as the BJP has stepped up its campaign against Nagendra and continued demanding his resignation over the allegations.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising concerns over the proposed method for recording caste information in the 2027 Census.

The Congress leaders have particularly objected to the absence of a separate OBC column in the caste-related questionnaire. They argued that the current system may not accurately reflect the size of India’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) population.

Sharing the letter on social media, Mr Kharge said that conducting a caste census was not enough and that it also needed to be carried out correctly.

The two leaders described the proposed method of recording caste information as “misleading” and outlined what they said were its potential shortcomings.

Rahul Gandhi, Kharge raise concerns over caste names

According to the letter, under the proposed approach, the caste name provided by an individual would be recorded as given.

Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge argued that the same caste can be known by different names, sub-castes and linguistic variations across different parts of India. They said this could result in members of the same caste being recorded under different names.

The Congress leaders contended that this could fragment a single caste across a very large number of entries and make the resulting data difficult to use effectively.

They have therefore demanded that the government withdraw the existing caste census questionnaire and prepare a new one after consultations with political parties, experts and the public.

Congress seeks OBC drop-down list

Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have suggested creating a drop-down list of castes to address the issue.

They said such a list could be prepared using existing government lists, including those for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, along with data from the Anthropological Survey of India.

The Congress leaders also attached caste lists used in surveys conducted in Telangana and Bihar, saying the same methodology had been used in those exercises.

Their key demand is for a separate drop-down list for the OBC category in the caste-related questionnaire.

What is the caste question in the 2027 Census?

The Centre released a list of 40 questions for the 2027 Census around two weeks ago.

The tenth question relates to caste. According to the information cited by the Congress leaders, a drop-down list has been provided for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, while an open-ended format has been adopted for other caste responses.

The Congress has demanded that a similar drop-down list be introduced for the OBC category.

Jairam Ramesh alleges Centre is delaying caste census

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, while releasing the letter at a press conference, alleged that the Centre did not have a genuine intention to conduct a caste census.

He described the current process as a “deception” and accused the government of deliberately attempting to put the caste census on the back burner. These are allegations made by the Congress and are presented as such.

The issue comes amid continued demands from the Congress for an accurate caste census.

A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi, while addressing an event organised by the Congress party’s OBC department, said that if the OBC community took to the streets like “Gen Z students”, the government would be forced to yield.