National Commission for Minorities

Republic of India This article is part of the series: Politics and Government of India

Union Government Constitution of India Fundamental Rights Executive President Vice President Prime Minister The Cabinet Parliament Rajya Sabha The Chairman  Lok Sabha  The Speaker Judiciary Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India High Courts District Courts Elections Election Commission Chief Election Commissioner Political Parties National Parties State Parties National Coalitions Left Front National Democratic Alliance (NDA) United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Local & State Govt. Governor State Legislature Vidhan Sabha Vidhan Parishad Panchayat Gram panchayat Panchayat samiti Zilla Parishad

Other countries ·  Politics Portal Government of India Portal view · talk · edit

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is a body constituted by the Government of India to monitor and evaluate the progress of people classified as minorities by the Indian government. Essentially the minorities in India consist of followers of all religions other than Hinduism and weaker sections in the Hindu community. The Commission is also referred to as the Minority Commission. It was formed as a result of an act of the Indian Parliament in 1993.[1]

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.” ^[1]

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.

References

1. ^ http://ncm.nic.in/un_declaration.html

External links

• 2268 complaints to National Commission for Minorities - TCN News
• Handbook of the commission
• G. Mahajan Negotiating Cultural Diversity and Minority Rights in India