PUSHED TO THE MARGIN
* No Muslim headed RPF since its formation in 1957
* 17 Muslims are among 293 senior RPF Officials
* Only one Muslim at the Railway Protection Special Force
* Low Muslim presence in Commando for Railway Security
THE Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF), both performing security roles in the largest rail network in Asia, present a pathetic picture when it comes to having Muslims among their rank and file, according to Mohammed Abdul Mannan’s new book, At the Bottom of the Ladder: State of the Indian Muslims –https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GF1Q9R25 – which quantifies Muslim presence in 150 key organisations, including Union ministries, departments, and other organisations.
The network of Indian Railways spans 69,181 km in route length and it runs passenger and goods trains. In the financial year of 2023–24, it operated 13,198 passenger trains on average per day, covering 7,325 stations, making it the world’s second-largest railway network under a single management, after railways commenced operations in India in 1854.
The Railways carry approximately 22 million passengers and over three million metric tons of freight every day over its network. A comparative study of crime on the Railways shows that 56 per cent of the cases relate to theft of luggage, four per cent consist of murder, robbery and dacoity and 40 per cent consist of other offences.
GRP can lodge an FIR and also arrest, while the RPF is only for security and a facilitator. RPF operates under the Union government, while GRP comes under the respective state governments. The GRP primarily focused on law and order and crime prevention within the railway premises.
The GRP is responsible for maintaining law and order on the railways within its jurisdiction. Currently, the GRP operates in all 28 states and eight Union Territories (UTs) that have railway lines. The GRP duties include the control of passenger traffic within railway station premises, control of vehicular traffic in station precincts; maintenance of order in passenger trains halted at stations and prevention of overcrowding in carriages; arrest of persons guilty of committing nuisance, and examination and inspection of empty carriages.
Currently, over 36,600 GRP personnel are stationed across the country, according to the Ministry of Railways. West Bengal GRP has 3,341 personnel spread across four GRP Districts. Uttar Pradesh GRP has about 6,000 personnel, spread across 65 stations and 43 GRP outposts. Bangalore Division of South Western Railway has a jurisdiction of three states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Tracing its origin to 1882, the Railway Protection Force came into its present form in 1954 after a committee called for organising the security in railways on a statutory basis. Finally, the RPF Bill was passed by the Parliament of India in 1957. Its history can be traced back to earlier iterations, including the ‘Watch and Ward’ phase from 1872 to 1954 and as the Railway Security Force (RSF) from 1954 to 1956.
The RPF Act was modified for the first time in 1985 for the constitution and maintenance of the RPF as an Armed Force of the Union of India and for the second time in 2003 to give it additional responsibilities of passenger safety and security of their belongings. The RPF works in coordination with the GRP and local law enforcement agencies.
The RPF today has 75,000 personnel and has six zonal training institutes and 14 battalions. None of the 27 RPF Directors-General had been a Muslim since the post was created in July 1953. Out of 27 officials at the Bengaluru Division, only one is a Muslim – Wasim Ahamad. Twenty-one officers are posted at the GRP Uttar Pradesh, of whom two are Muslims – Syed Nazmul Hussain Naqvi, a DSP at Agra, and Sohrab Alam, a DSP at Jhansi. In Tamil Nadu, the GRP strength has remained unchanged since 1989. The Tamil Nadu Fifth Police Commission has called for urgently increasing the GRP manpower by 50 per cent to give a sense of safety and security to railway passengers.
The GRP has about 1,800 personnel in different ranks deployed across major railway stations in Tamil Nadu. The percentage of Muslims in GRP in Tamil Nadu reflects the negligible figures at the national level. Officials at the RPF Chennai Division stand at 38, including a Muslim. The situation is no different in Odisha, which has 15 GRP stations. In Karnataka, the Mangalore Railway Police is operating with only 18-member staff for 18 stations. The GRP Pune has six police stations to oversee the entire jurisdiction covering the railway lines in nine districts.
It has nine inspectors and sub-inspectors without a Muslim representation. Maharashtra has four Railway Districts with their headquarters at Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur. In January 2024, the GRP in Mumbai began receiving reinforcements after a 25-year freeze, with four new railway police stations at Kurla Terminus, Ambarnath, Asangaon, and Bhayander getting established, with an additional 878 men and officers joining the force.
Additionally, three police stations have been sanctioned on the Konkan Railway route to overcome inadequate policing for preventing and detecting crime on the tracks. Lokmanya Tilak Terminus has emerged as a major passenger hub for outstation trains. The Railway Police look after security at this Kurla terminus. Mumbai has 17 stations that are manned by the GRP, whose personnel strength has not increased since 1999. The three police stations on Konkan Railway are coming up at Roha, Ratnagir,i and Kankavli, the first GRP stations on this route.
Currently, policing on this 447-km-long track with 43 railway stations is done by the police stations of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. There were only two Muslims – J Ahmed Jani and Mohammed Sharif, according to data, when 105 RPF inspectors were promoted by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone as Assistant Security Commissioners (ASCs) effective from May 2019. Out of the 31 RPF officers posted over Northern Railways (NR) headed by a DIG, none is a Muslim.
Only 17 are Muslims out of 293 RPF senior officers. Out of 32 RPF Inspectors General (IGs), only two are Muslims – Tarique Ahmed, posted at Gorakhpur, and Munawar Khursheed, Director of RPF Academy. Among the 87 Divisional RPF Officers, nine are Muslims. In the North Western Region, overseeing four divisions of Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, and Jodhpur, there is a Muslim among the 17 RPF officers.
The RPF offices in the West Central Railway number 15, of whom two are Muslims. The RPF’s three divisions at Jabalpur, Bhopal and Kota have a strength of 49 officials of whom only two are Muslims. Out of 92 sub-inspectors (SIs), one is a Muslim, while none of the 23 assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) is Muslim. The same is the case with head constables numbering 21. However, 22 are Muslims among 705 constables. Eighteen officers of the RPF North Central Railway include a Muslim. In the Northern Region, 38 officers have no Muslim. At the Eastern Railway, one of the six officers is a Muslim, Rafique Ahmed Ansari, a DIG.
The 17 RPF officers at North Central Railway include a Muslim, Shakeel Khan, ASC Kanpur. None of the 17 Principal Chief Security Commissioners (PCSCs) at Zonal Railways is a Muslim. Sixty-eight senior DSCs and DSCs include four Muslims, K Ashraf, Senior DSC at Mumbai in the Central Railway. Mohammed Munawvar Khan, DSC at Jaipur in North Western Railway, Shaik Jan Ahammed Zani, a DSC in Northeast Frontier Railway, and Ibrahim Sheriff, Senior DSC in Eastern Railways. One of the 17 Commanding Officers (Cos) of RPF is a Muslim – Mohammed S Z Khan, Senior Commandant of 9th Battalion of RPSF. No Muslim is the head of 13 training hubs. One of the RPF officials at the Guntakal Division in Andhra Pradesh is a Muslim, M Rahiman, an Assistant SI.
Out of 51 RPF inspectors at the Central Railways, two are Muslims. One of the 18 RPF officers at the Security Control Room in Dhanbad in Jharkhand is a Muslim, Sub-Inspector Mohammed Faiyaz Ahmed. Among the seven senior management officials at the Western Railway is one Muslim, MK Khan. None is a Muslim among the six Senior Divisional Security Commissioners, Divisional Security Commissioners and Security Commissioners. Out of 276 sub-inspectors, only eight are Muslims.
Out of 489 Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs), 22 are Muslim. The North Central Railway (NCR) covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and has three divisions. Among the 18 senior officials, led by an IGP, is a Muslim, Mohammed Sharif, ASC. Out of 168 Sub-Inspectors, three are Muslims. As many as 36 are Muslims among 858 head constables. Two are Muslims among 25 Security Commissioners in Central Railways – Syed Iqbal Ahmed, an ASC at Thane, and Shakeel Khan, ASC at PTC.
When it comes to officers of the Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS), the ground realities are no different for the Muslim community. All the RPF officers are members of the Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS) and are recruited through UPSC Civil Services Examination and recruited as Group-A Central Civil Servants. However, the post of Director-General of RPF is held on deputation by a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.
RPF officers are responsible for the overall protection and safeguarding of railway property, passengers, and passenger areas on/over the Indian Railways. The officers join the service after completing training as Assistant Commandant or Assistant Security Commissioner in the division. The officers also get a battalion posting or at the headquarters. Only 13 are Muslims out of the present 169 IRPFS officers, with three officers as Inspectors-General – Mohammed Nurul Hoda, Tarique Ahmed, and Munawwar Khursheed. Six are of DIG ranks – A Ibrahim Sheriff, Mohammed SZ Khan, Rafique Ahmad Ansari, KK Ashraf, Mohammad Saquib, and Syed Sarfaraz Ahmad.
Four other Muslim officers are Muhammed Haneef, Shaik Jan Ahammed Jani, S Siddiqui, and Mohammed Munawar Khan. Ashraf is presently on deputation to Kochi Metro and is its Chief Vigilance Officer. He is one of the 20 IRPFS officers on deputation to other organisations. Out of 464 RPF officers in all Zonal Railways, 21 are Muslims.
In the combined seniority list of inspectors promoted as of January 2021, as many as 28 are Muslims out of a total of 672. Another 31 are Muslims out of 661 inspectors promoted as of January 2022. The sub-inspectors, totalling 168, include three Muslims. Out of the 75 Female Nodal Officers (FNOs) handling issues of the welfare of female RPF personnel and handling their grievances/complaints, is a Muslim, Nazneen Mansuri.
One of the 31 officers at the Security Directorate at the Railway Board is a Muslim. Mohammed Haneef, Deputy Director. The Security Commissionerate has 126 officials of whom 13 are Muslims. It is headed by Mohammed Nurul Hoda, an IG-rank officer. Only five are Muslims among 223 Assistant Security Commissioners (ASCs) posted across 69 divisions. The RPF Academy in Lucknow is headed by Munawar Khursheed, IG-cum-Director. Out of 36 senior officials at the facility, only one is a Muslim, Mrs S Siddiqui.
Officials at 11 RPF Zonal Training Centres include seven Muslims out of the total 146. Among the 21 officials at the Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF), one is a Muslim – Mohammed Munawwar Khan, Senior Commanding Officer at 9th Battalion. There is no Muslim officer at the RPSF Training Centre, which has a total of 15 officials. As many as 10 are Muslims in Commando for Railway Security (CORAS), a specialised responder for disruptions of train operations, attacks/hostage/hijack, and disaster situations in Railway jurisdictions. CORAS has five Coys and employs a total of 586 commandos as of mid-2025.
To read and obtain more data, please visit:
At the Bottom of the Ladder: State of the Indian Muslims – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GF1Q9R25
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