India, March 18 -- Hundreds of protesters, predominantly women, marched through the Porompat area of Imphal East on Tuesday to demand the deferment of Manipur's upcoming census. Surrounded by a large police presence, the demonstrators converged on the Census office to reiterate that no headcount should occur until the state addresses concerns over illegal immigration.

The march was organized by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (CJFD). The group is calling for the implementation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC) or a similar mechanism to identify and repatriate illegal immigrants before any official census data is gathered.

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as "No NRC-No Census," "No free movement-No Census,...