India’s National Commission for Minorities Lying Vacant for Months: No Chairperson, No Members Since April

Since December 2024, five members of the commission, including the Chairperson, have retired, but no new appointments have been made to date.

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New Delhi – India’s National Commission for Minorities (NCM), a key constitutional body meant to safeguard the rights of religious minority communities, has remained headless and defunct since April 2025, when former Chairperson Iqbal Singh Lalpura completed his term.

In fact, five of the seven statutory posts, including that of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, have been lying vacant since December 2024, with no official appointments made by the Centre — raising alarm over the continued erosion of institutional support for religious minorities in the country.

The NCM functions under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and according to the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, it should comprise a Chairperson and six members, with representation from each of the six notified minority communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains.

A Critical Institution Left Leaderless

The delay in appointments has raised serious questions about the Centre’s commitment to minority welfare, particularly at a time when hate speech and communal violence have been on the rise, according to rights groups.

A senior former NCM member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Commission had long been reduced to a symbolic body.

“Positions have often gone to people with close ties to ruling parties. The last Chairperson, Mr. Lalpura, contested the Punjab Assembly election on a BJP ticket. Before him, BJP leader and then Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, held the post,” the former member noted.

While Mr. Naqvi declined to comment on the appointment delays, he admitted:

“Obviously, when there is a Chairperson and members, the efficiency gets enhanced.”

Not the First Delay, But Perhaps the Most Telling One

This isn’t the first time the NCM has faced an extended leadership vacuum.
In 2017, the Commission operated for months without a Chairperson or full members. In 2021, the Delhi High Court had to direct the Union government to fill the long-pending vacancies.

The present delay, however, comes amidst rising reports of hate crimes against religious minorities, particularly Christians and Muslims — a development that critics argue underscores the Centre's indifference to minority rights.

Critics Call the NCM a “Post-Retirement Club”

Former NCM Chairperson Tahir Mahmood, in his book Minorities Commission (1978–2015): Minor Role in Major Affairs, wrote that the Commission had become a “showpiece”, a “post-retirement centre for committed bureaucrats,” and largely irrelevant to the real issues faced by minority communities.

In an interview with The Hindu, Mahmood had also stated:

“The condition of Muslims and Christians remained as it had been before the establishment of the Commission.”

NCMEI Also Paralyzed, One Member Left

The paralysis at the NCM has had a domino effect — impacting the functioning of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) as well.

The NCMEI, which is tasked with protecting the educational rights of minorities and advising the Ministry of Education, has been functioning with just one working member — Sahid Akhtar — for nearly two years. Its last Chairperson, Justice (Retd.) Narender Kumar Jain, completed his tenure in September 2023.

The body is required by law to have at least three members and a Chairperson of High Court judge rank or higher.

“Political leaders should raise the issue in Parliament. The NCMEI is a commission of national importance, and these delays are unacceptable,” said Justice (Retd.) M.S.A. Siddiqui, who previously served as NCMEI Chairperson.

Minority Rights Advocates Raise Alarm

Noted human rights activist and former National Integration Council member John Dayal has strongly criticized the government's lack of urgency.

“The BJP government has shown consistent disregard for minority rights institutions like the NCM and NCMEI since 2014. Today, they exist in name only, run by bureaucratic staff,” Dayal said.

He added that many States don’t even have functioning State Minority Commissions, decades after Parliament passed the NCM Act.

“The long delay in appointing a new Commission clearly shows that the welfare of religious minorities is not a high priority for the government. These are dangerous times, and the absence of these bodies is deeply felt,” Dayal emphasized, referring to the surge in hate crimes and hate speech as documented by civil rights groups.

 Government Yet to Respond

Repeated queries to both the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Ministry of Education have gone unanswered.

With no formal update on when the new Chairperson and members will be appointed, the future of two of India’s most crucial minority welfare commissions — the NCM and the NCMEI — remains uncertain.

Key Takeaways:

• The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has no Chairperson or members since April 2025.
• Five key posts have been vacant since December 2024.
• The NCMEI has just one working member for nearly two years.
• Critics accuse the government of politicizing appointments and ignoring minority welfare.
• Civil rights groups say the vacuum in these bodies is deeply felt amid rising hate speech and communal incidents.