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NCM sets up new panel to define minority
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- At present, minority status is granted to Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.
