PUSHED TO THE MARGIN
* The Northern Region office has 46 Muslims among 839 officials
* Four Muslims at the Remote Sensing & Aerial Survey
* Southern Region HQ has 51 Muslims among 1,214 officials
* The Western Region has 836 officials, including 32 Muslims
* The Vigilance team has no Muslim members
THE Geological Survey of India (GSI), which celebrated its 175th Foundation Day in August 2025, now counts 27 Muslims among its 1,001 officials at its central headquarters, 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. The book quantifies Muslim presence in 150 key organisations, including Union ministries, departments, and organisations.
The scientific agency, primarily responsible for conducting geological surveys and studies across the country, was established in 1851, making it one of the world’s oldest geoscientific organisations. The GSI is a key provider of earth science information to the Union and state governments, a broad spectrum of industries, and the general public.
The GSI came into existence as British geological experts arrived in India in the early part of the 19th century and became associated with the Survey of India (SOI), conducting geological studies for the army organisations. H W Voysey produced the first geological map of the Hyderabad region, along with a detailed report. A committee for ‘The Investigation of Coal and Mineral Resources’ came up in 1837. Its Secretary, John McClelland, appointed the first professional geologist.
However, D H Williams became the first Geological Surveyor with the East India Company, appointed in 1846. It was John McClelland who, for the first time, used the term Geological Survey of India in his report in 1848. He designated himself as the officiating Surveyor, Geological Survey, till the first day of April 1850.
The Geological Survey of India officially took off in 1851, primarily to explore coal deposits for the Railways. The arrival of Sir Thomas Oldham, Professor of Geology at Trinity College Dublin and the Chief of the Irish Geological Survey at Calcutta in early March 1851, marked the beginning of the Geological Survey of India.
Its main functions relate to the creation and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resources assessment through ground surveys, airborne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multidisciplinary geoscientific, geotechnical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, glaciology, and seismotectonic studies.
The GSI Charter calls for enabling and providing “objective, impartial, and up-to-date” geological expertise and geoscientific information for decision-making for policy, commercial, economic, and societal needs. It “systematically” documents the geology and geological processes of the surface and subsurface of India and its offshore areas using the latest and most cost-effective techniques and methodologies, including geophysical, geochemical, and geological surveys.
It works to develop and continually enhance the GSI’s core competence in survey and mapping through continued accretion, management, coordination, and utilization of spatial databases, including those acquired through remote sensing, and functions as a ‘repository’ or ‘clearing house’ for the purpose.
It uses new and emerging computer-based technologies for the dissemination of geoscientific information and spatial data, and cooperates and collaborates with other stakeholders in the geoinformatics sector. The GSI conducts multidisciplinary and fundamental geoscientific research and studies, including geotechnical investigations, physical, chemical, and biological hazard geo-investigations, and climate change geo-studies, and fosters partnerships with central and state research and academic institutions.
It actively participates in international collaborative projects to improve the understanding of the Earth and its ecosystems and its geology, including studies related to tectonics, global warming, climate change, and polar studies. The Kolkata-headquartered GSI now has six regional offices at Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong, and Kolkata, and unit offices in almost all states of the country. Presently, the GSI operates as an attached office to the Union Ministry of Mines.
It also has three Operational Wings and a Training Institute, besides Central Headquarters (CHQ). Its Vigilance Administration is decentralised, and the Regions/Wings/Institutes have one vigilance unit each. The Vigilance set up in CHQ is headed by the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO), who is assisted by the Vigilance Officer and two Administrative Officers. In the other regional offices/wings/institutes, it is headed by a part-time Vigilance Officer each, who in turn is assigned the tasks by the GSI’s Director-General, in consultation with the CVO.
One of GSI’s 22 top management team members is a Muslim – N Shareef Mohamed, Deputy Director General at Mangalore. None of its 11 Nodal Officers is a Muslim, as is the case with the Vigilance officials numbering 12. One is a Muslim among its 11 CPIOs – Mohammed Sabir Pathan, posted at the Central Region in Nagpur. None of the nine Grievance officials is a Muslim. Only 27 are Muslims among the 1001 employees at its Central Headquarters (CHQ), including Dr S K Rezaul Basir, Deputy Director-General.
In the Central Region, headed by Mohammed Sabir Pathan, a director-level official, there are 17 Muslims among 905 officers, 16 of them being geologists. The Eastern region, with 1,142 officials, has four director-level officials – Dr Mansoor Ahmed, Dr Israil Khan, S Khan, and Mohammed Muzaffer Najar, based in Bihar, Odisha, and Kolkata. There are also 17 officials, including Asaad Ahsan Raza, Superintending Geologist based in Jharkhand. There are also 15 officials in administrative positions. The Marine and Coastal Survey has 31 officials, including two Muslims – N Shareef Mohammed, Deputy Director General. The North Eastern Region office in Assam has 12 Muslims among 584 officials.
The Northern Region office has 46 Muslims among 839 officials, including three director-level officials – Abdul Qayoom, Salim Javed, and Mohammed Ahmed. There are also three Muslims as Assistant Director (Personnel and Administration), Superintending Geologist for Polar Studies Division, and a Superintending Geologist.
There are four Muslims among 123 officials at the Remote Sensing and Aerial Survey, including Muneer Ahmed Mukhtar, Director, Petrology, Petrochemistry, and Ore Dressing. In the Southern Region, the headquarters has as many as 1,214 officials, including 51 Muslims, four of whom are director-level officials and one senior geologist based in Hyderabad. Four of the 83 officials at the GSI Training Institute are Muslims. The Western Region has 836 officials on its rolls, including 32 Muslims, including three director-level officials based in Jaipur.
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
Next: TheZoological Survey of India has 23 Muslims among 591 officers and other staff
