Imphal, July 11 -- Fourteen civil society organisations (CSOs) in Manipur have urged the Centre to adopt a tripartite framework for implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC), using 1951 as the base year.

They also called for the identification of genuine citizens and the deportation of illegal immigrants before the Census 2027 process is finalised.

Speaking to the media in Imphal, the convenor of the CSOs, Shanta Nahakpam, alleged that the prolonged ethnic conflict in Manipur was rooted in demographic changes caused by illegal immigration across the porous India-Myanmar border.

He claimed there had been cross-border infiltration over the past seven decades and raised concerns over what he described as anomalies in previous c...