National Commission for Minorities

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The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Five religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities by the Union Government.

UN Declaration

The NCM adheres to the UN Declaration of 18 December 1992 which states that "“States shall protect the existence of the National or Ethnic, Cultural, Religious and Linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.”

Functions and powers

The Commission has the following functions:

• Evaluate the progress of the development of Minorities under the Union and States.

• Monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament and the State Legislatures.

• Make recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests of Minorities by the Central Governments or the State Governments.

• Look into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Minorities and take up such matters with the appropriate authorities.

The Commission has the following powers:

• Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath.

• Requiring the discovery and production of any document.

• Receiving evidence on affidavit.

• Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.

• Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents.

Current Commission

The current commission constituted in 2010 (sixth to date) consists of:

• Wajahat Habibullah - Chairman

• Dr H.T. Sangliana - Vice Chairperson

• Harvendra singh Hanspal - Member

• Spalzes Angmo - Member

• Syeda Bilgrami Imam - Member

• Vinod Sharma - Member

The commission also employs other officers as well.

See also

• Tamil Nadu State Minorities Commission

External links

• Official website of the NCM
• Handbook of the commission
• G. Mahajan Negotiating Cultural Diversity and Minority Rights in India