- Two Muslims headed the Election Commission of India
- UPSC had one Muslim as chairperson and 10 as members
- No Muslims as the Atomic Energy Commission chief or member
- One Muslim in 21 National Human Rights Commission’s members
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Be it finance, law, or information, Muslim representation on India’s Permanent and Ad Hoc Commissions has remained the lowest with successive governments carrying out symbolic nominations from the largest minority community. These commissions are tasked with performing and bringinhg about reforms in several domains including administration, economy, education, judiciary, and social systems, according to a new book, Muslims in India 1947-2024 – Fake Narratives versus Ground Realities.
India has now 32 Permanent Commissions in place. Between 1977 and 2005, India had 14 Ad Hoc Commissions which included the Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities in 2004 and Mukherjee Commission set up in 2005 to investigate the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1945. Over 100 committees were also formed to look into specific issues and developments, of whom only two had been under Muslim officials.
Formed in 1926, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) continued its role after Independence by conducting examinations for appointment to the Civil Services and others and direct recruitment by selection through interviews. Since Independence, it has seen 16 chairpersons which included one Muslim – JM Qureshi from September 1996 for a three-year term. Its 85 members since 1947 included 10 Muslims, the last from 2002 to 2005. It has by end-2024 over 111 officials including five Muslims. Presently, the seven-member UPSC has no Muslim representation.
Set up in April 1945, the Central Water Commission (CWC) formed to efficiently deal with water resources development and address climate change, had seen 54 chairpersons of whom four were Muslims – M Hayat in 1958, Z Hasan (twice in 1998 and 2000), and S Masood Hussain, from 2017 to 2019. Its current four members have no Muslim. Also, no Muslim is among its 30 senior management staff.
The first commission to emerge after Independence was the Pay Commission. The Union government establishes a Pay Commission every 10 years to revise employee pay scales, and its recommendations are usually adopted by all states after some modifications. The Pay Commission has seen eight persons as its head, of whom none were Muslims.
The Indian Atomic Energy Commission came up in August 1948, replacing the Indian Atomic Energy Commission that was created a month earlier under the Department of Scientific Research, to plan and implement measures on sound technical and economic principles and free from all non-essential restrictions or needlessly elastic rules in the atomic energy domain. The Indian Atomic Energy Commission was replaced by the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) in March 1954.
Between 1948 and 2023 onwards, AECI had seen 13 chairpersons with no Muslim among them during the 76-year-long period. The same case prevails with nine Secretaries at the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). No Muslim is now among the 13 AECI members appointed for each calendar year. The DAE has 65 top officials including three Muslims. After Independence, the Linguistic Provinces Commission (LPC) was set up in June 1948 to evaluate the feasibility of creating new provinces based on language and reorganising the dominion based on financial efficiency, demographic contiguity, and ease of management. The LPC had three members headed by a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court. No Muslim sat on this high-powered panel. Its report, released in December 1948, rejected the idea of organising provinces solely on linguistic grounds while recommending reorganising the provinces of Madras, Bombay, Berar, and the Central Provinces on “geographical contiguity, financial self-sufficiency, and ease of administration”.
Soon came another three-member committee headed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru which also concluded that it was not feasible to reorganise the country on linguistic lines. In December 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru formed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) headed by Justice Sir Syed Fazal Ali, KM Panikkar, a diplomat, and parliamentarian HN Kunzru, as its members. Two years later, it recommended reorganising 27 states of various categories into 16 states and three Union Territories. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 created Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The Bombay Reorganisation Act came up in 1960, the Punjab Reorganisation Act six years later, and the State of Himachal Pradesh Reorganisation Act in 1970.
The Election Commission of India came up in January 1950, a year before India went in for its first general elections to conduct elections to the offices of the President and Vice-President of India, Parliament, State Legislative Assemblies, and Legislative Councils. The permanent Constitutional body had only a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) but currently consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners (ECs). For the first time, two additional commissioners were appointed in October 1989 and their tenures ended in January 1990. Later, in October 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed. Its decision-making power is through a majority vote. Two of the 24 CECs have been Muslims – Dr SY Quraishi from July 2010 to June 2012, and Dr Nasim Zaidi, from April 2015 to July 2017. No Muslim figured in the list of six election commissioners since 1989.
Also, in 1950 came the Planning Commission to formulate India’s Five-Year Plans, among other functions. Through its 12th successive five-year-plans, it brought about a massive socio-economic transformation that placed the country as the world’s 10th largest economy by its end. In January 2015, the BJP-led NDA government replaced the Planning Commission with a newly created NITI Aayog to serve as the apex public policy think-tank of the Union government. In July 2024, the Aayog got four full-time members, and 15 ex-officio members. After the new body was formed, not a single Muslim had been on its board. Among its 275 officials, there are 16 Muslims. The Finance Commission arrived in November 1951. Its members included no Muslims. The panel was asked to make recommendations on the sharing revenues of the Income Tax and Excise Duties, among others. To date, 16 Finance Commissions have been in place of which one had been headed by a Muslim – Ali Mohammed Khusro between 2000 to 2005 as its 11th chief.
There had been no Muslim among its 25 Deputy Chairpersons. Four Muslims had been among its 114 members till 2023 including Dr Abid Hussain, who later became the Indian Ambassador to the US. In January 2024, the 16th Finance Commission replaced the Planning Commission after Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014. In 1953, the University Grants Commission (UGC) started to coordinate, determine, and maintain standards of university education, provide recognition to universities, and disburse funds to recognised universities and colleges. Its 19 chairpersons from its inception include a Muslim – Humayun Kabir for a year from 1955. Its 14 vice-chairpersons too had a Muslim – Prof Rais Ahmed who served for three years from 1982. There had been no Muslim among its 15 secretaries. There is not a single Muslim among its 51 officers.
The Law Commission of India began in 1955 for a three-year term. During colonial times, the first law commission was constituted in 1834 to investigate the constitution of courts and the nature of laws. This commission, with Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay and three others as members, drafted the Penal Code in 1837. Since the 1950s, 22 law commissions have been appointed, each with a three-year term and a definite term of reference.
In November 2022, the chairperson of the 23rd Law Commission was appointed along with five members whose tenures will end in August 2027. No Muslim has ever become the chief of the Law Commission, and no Muslim is among its 11 officials in New Delhi.
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) was formed in April 1957 to take over the work of the former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board. No Muslim has headed KVIC and there are no Muslims among the 26 top officials across the country.
The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) came up as the statutory body in May 1993 for the development of the recognised minorities in India. Of its eight chairpersons, three were Muslims including Justice Sardar Ali Khan, a former judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court. Among its seven senior officials are two Muslims. One Muslim is among four members.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) came up in 1964 to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in public administration, as suggested by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption. In 2003, the government accorded it the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Union government, advising various authorities in Union government organisations in planning, executing, reviewing, and reforming their vigilance work. It has seen a total of 20 chiefs, the tenure of the last ends in January 2027. No Muslim figures on this list. Among its current 98 officials, there are only two Muslims.
The Oil and Natural Gas Commission has seen 21 chairpersons of whom one was a Muslim – A Zaman in 1965 for a year. In 1965, the Agricultural Prices Commission came up to stabilise agricultural prices and ensure meaningful real income levels for farmers, and essential agricultural commodities at reasonable prices. The system of Minimum Support Price (MSP) was first introduced for wheat in 1966-67 and later expanded to include other essential food crops. Renamed Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CAPC) it recommends MSPs of 23 commodities – seven cereals, seven oilseeds, and four commercial crops. Each year, the commission estimates the cost of production for various crops, using three definitions.
The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) which recommends reviewing the public administration system was established in January 1966. It has seen 10 chairpersons which included no Muslims. In 1985 it began working as the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Its current three members including the chief have no Muslim representation. Its non-official members are representatives of the farming community and usually have an active association with the farming community. No Muslim had either been its chairperson or a member since its formation. The post of four members remained vacant till 2024-end. Its 45 senior officials include two Muslims including Abdul Aleem, Economic Officer.
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) came into existence in 1976 for the smooth conduct of examinations in different parts of the country through seven regional offices and it had seen 22 chairpersons including two Muslims – Saiyid Hamid who served as its first chief from 1976 to 1980, and IMG Khan, from 2005 to 2006. There are two Muslims among its 69 senior officials.
Constituted in 1988, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is headed by a sitting or a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a sitting or retired chief justice of a high court. It is presently headed by a former chief justice of Patna high court and has 10 members of whom none is a Muslim. Its nine chairpersons included no Muslim. Thirty-nine of its members included a Muslim – Rais Ahmed, from 1988 to 1990.
India set up a Telecom Commission in April 1989 to deal with the various aspects of telecommunications including policy formulation, licensing, wireless spectrum management, administrative monitoring of PSUs, research and development, standardisation, and validation of equipment. In October 2018, the government renamed it the Digital Communications Commission. The name change has been brought in line with the objectives of the National Digital Communications Policy to project telecommunications as a business-enabling segment that permeates across various sectors.
The commission consisted of a chairman, four full-time members, who are ex-officio secretaries to the Union government in the Department of Telecom (DoT), and four part-time members who are secretaries to the Union government in the concerned departments. In August 2023, the Digital Communication Commission was disbanded and ceded the budget decisions to the Department of Expenditure. During its run, the body had no Muslims among its members or in the senior management.
The National Commission for Women came into being in 1992 to protect and promote the interests of women and to assess the country’s constitutional safeguards for the fairer sex. None of its nine chairpersons had been a Muslim. Of its 124 officials are five Muslims, a personal secretary in the Deputy Secretary’s office. Among its 42 members till now were five Muslims. In 1993 came the National Commission for Backward Classes (BCs), a constitutional body tasked with considering the inclusions and exclusions from the lists of castes notified as backward for job reservations, and to advise the Union on such matters.
The commission was reconstituted seven times up to 2016. It has seen a total of 50 chairpersons and members since its inception. Most of its chairperson had been BP Mandal who headed the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC) in January 1979 during the Morarji Desai regime. Two Muslims – Abdul Ali Azizi and Dr Shakeel Uz Zaman Ansari – had been its members each for two terms, from 2007 to 2010, and from 2011 to 2014, and again from 2014 to 2017. No Muslim is among 18 officials of the commission now. As of 2024-end, the post of four members is vacant.
The National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) came up as a statutory body in October 1993 for the protection and promotion of human rights “relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution of India or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India”. By June 2021, it had 32 chairpersons and members till the end of 2024, of whom only one was a Muslim – Justice Fathima Beevi, a member from November 1993 to January 1997. No Muslim had been among its 17 Secretary-Generals. Among its 17 officials are two Muslims.
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) was set up in February 2000 to examine how best the Constitution can respond to the changing needs for an efficient, smooth, and effective system of governance and socio-economic development of modern India within the framework of Parliamentary democracy. Its tenure was extended from time to time up to March 2002 when it submitted its two-volume report. It was chaired by the retired chief justice of India Justice Venkatachaliah, and its 10 other members included a Muslim – Abid Hussain, former ambassador of India to the US. Interestingly, none of its recommendations have been accepted by governments to date.
In the second year of the 21st century came the National Commission on Cattle (NCC) to suggest ways of improving the condition of cattle across the country. In December 2001, the Parliament was informed that it was set up to review the relevant laws of the land that relate to the protection, preservation, development, and well-being of cows and their progeny and suggest measures for their effective implementation; to study the existing provisions for the maintenance of organisations working for protection and development of cattle, and to study the contribution of cattle towards the economy and to suggest ways and means for maximum utilisation of cattle products.
In August 2002, the commission recommended to the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee that the Union government should by law prohibit the slaughter of cows and their progeny, besides regulating and controlling their transport from one state to another for slaughter. It recommended making cows the national animal. It also recommended the constitution of a permanent National Cattle Development Commission with a fund of Rs100 crore per year for the preservation and development of cattle in the country. To date, none of its 35 chairpersons and members have been Muslims.
The Competition Commission of India, set up in October 2003 and fully functional from May 2009, consists of a chairperson and not less than two and not more than six other members to be appointed by the Union Government. It must eliminate practices having adverse effects on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers, and ensure freedom of trade in the country’s markets. It is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness, and impart training on competition issues.
From 2010 till date, the commission has seen 42 chairpersons and members. Among its 109 officials are three Muslims including a Deputy Director-General. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was set up as a constitutional body in 2004, and it had seven chairpersons. There is no Muslim among its 13 senior officials as of 2024. Also, in 2004 the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) was set up. None of its six chairpersons had been Muslim or its 32 members. Also, no Muslim is among its 16 CPIOs or 46 officials at its New Delhi secretariat.
The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) also came up in 2004 to address the issues faced by enterprises in the unorganised sector which consists of all unincorporated private enterprises owned by individuals or households engaged in the sale or production of goods and services operated on a proprietary or partnership basis and with less than 10 workers in total. It has two dozen experts as chairpersons and members over the past two decades. Operating since 2005, the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions presently has a member, a Muslim who was previously the Chairman of the Jharkhand State Minorities Commission, and Vice Chairman of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language.
The Sachar Committee, a seven-member high-level panel, was established in March 2005 headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic, and educational condition of Muslims in India. The committee submitted its 403-page report in 2006 offering suggestions and solutions for the inclusive development of the Muslims in India. In 2004, the Indian National Congress returned to power after having been in Opposition for eight years, an unprecedented length of time for a party that had ruled the country for 44 out of 57 years between 1947 and 2004. The report offered insights into the Muslim community’s social, economic, and educational conditions. The committee was composed of seven members which included four Muslims – Sayyid Hamid, MA Basith, Akhtar Majeed, and Abu Saleh Shariff.
The National Statistical Commission (NSC) was set up in July 2006 to reduce the problems faced by statistical agencies in the country regarding the collection of data and to ensure the collection of unbiased data to restore public trust in the figures released by the Union government. It emerged following the merger of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). It was established based on the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission which reviewed the Indian Statistical System in 2001. The NSC needs five members, including a chairperson, to function. It has seen five chairpersons and 19 members between 2006 and 2022, of whom none were Muslim.
Also, in 2005 came the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) which defined a child as someone up to the age of 18 years. There is no Muslim among its four chairpersons or present three members. Its 12 officials include a Muslim woman, Senior Technical Expert for Child Health, Care, and Welfare. In January 2009, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) came into existence to deal with matters relating to the timely publication of the Indian Pharmacopoeia, the official book of standards for drugs, specifying the standards of identity, purity and strength of the drugs imported, manufactured for sale, stocked or exhibited for sale or distributed. Its chairperson is the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Secretary-cum-Scientific Director is the Chief Scientific and Executive Officer of the Commission. Its governing body for the FY 2024-25 has 33 members with no Muslim.
The scientific body of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has 21 members including one Muslim. The 155 members of the Expert Groups include one Muslim in Allergen group while the Anti-Retroviral has one Muslim. Its 54 employees include one Muslim, a scientific assistant. The 80 contractual scientific staff have no Muslims. The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) came into force in June 2021 under which the government constituted four autonomous boards. Its 18 present members including chairpersons include three Muslim officials. Its 15 officials include one Muslim.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) was constituted in September 2020, after the Medical Council of India stood dissolved, to improve access to quality and affordable medical education, ensure the availability of adequate and high-quality medical professionals, promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens; and encourage medical professionals to adopt latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research.
Its 33 members include no Muslim. Under it operates four autonomous boards with 21 members. It includes one Muslim under the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board. In 2021, came the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, for better coordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index, and to issue directions and entertain complaints to protect and improve the quality of air. Its 11 members and 11 officials have no Muslim representation till the end of 2024.
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