NCM sets up new panel to define minority

NCM sets up new panel to define minority

1. The National Commission for Minorities has constituted a new sub-committee. The committee is entrusted with the task of preparing a report to provide a) comprehensive definition of minority and b) criteria for determining minority status of a community. The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is a statutory body established under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. It functions to safeguard the rights and interests of minority communities in India.
2. The constitution of the sub-committee comes in the backdrop of recent Supreme Court direction to NCM on defining minority in the context of state-wise population of a community.
3. The direction came over a plea seeking minority status for Hindus in 7 states and 1 UT. According to 2011 census, the Hindus are minority in Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Punjab.
4. At present, minority status is granted to Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.