PUSHED TO THE MARGIN
* 27 Muslims among 1,001 DGPs, CPs and SPs
* One Muslim among 34 DGPs till mid-2025
* No Muslim DGP in history in nine states
* 297 Muslims among 1,0431 SPs across India
* Three Muslims as Mumbai police heads
NEW DELHI – The representation of Muslims among Directors-General of Police (DGPs), Commissioners of Police (CP), and Superintendents of Police (SPs) has remained at the lowest levels throughout history, 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.
Until now, there had been 27 Muslims among 1,001 DGPs. Ironically, there have been no Muslim DGPs in nine states, including Delhi, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu. Puducherry and Lakshadweep have seen two Muslims as police chiefs out of 38 and 24, respectively.
There have been only seven Muslims of the 294 chiefs of police academies, mostly DGP-rank officials, across the country. There have been 301 Muslims among 10,445 SPs across the country till the end of 2024. There are currently 68 Muslims among 1,884 SPs and Additional SPs. By March 2025, India had a total of 780 administrative districts. Most districts have an SP and an Additional SP in their administrative set-up, next to collectors and district magistrates.
Khan Bahadur Rana Talia Muhammad Khan was the first in British India to serve as Inspector-General of Police (Chief of State Police) in the Patiala State and the North-West Frontier Province. Since Independence, several Muslim officials have served as police chiefs, including as the state’s IGP, a post that was later upgraded to DGP.
In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that a DGP should be appointed by involving both the state governments and the UPSC. In 2018, the judgment was modified for proper direction to appoint a DGP. Three months before the retirement of an ‘active’ DGP, a state government has to send a proposal to the UPSC, which creates a panel of three officers suitable for the state, and which then has to choose one of them as a DGP.
After the judgment, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, and Bihar have approached the court for a modification, but in 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed all the applications, citing that no modifications are required. The judgment is to ensure a police officer is not harassed through postings and transfer by any political party, and ensure a minimum tenure. As of mid-2025, only one is a Muslim among 34 DGPs in 28 States and eight UTs – MA Saleem (Karnataka).
Andhra Pradesh has seen a total of 38 DGPs, of whom two were Muslims – Abdus Salam Khan (June 1973-April 1975) and M Abdul Basith (January-October 2007). While Salaam was the fifth DGP in the state, Basith was 24th. Arunachal Pradesh had no Muslims among the 25 DGPs. Assam had seen 46 police chiefs – 23 IGPs between 1947-1978 and 23 DGPs since 1981 – of whom four have been Muslims – H Hussain (twice in 1957 and 1960), Ibrahim Ali (1962), and S Ahmed (1975). There had been no Muslim DGPs among 13 since 1991. Bihar’s 51 DGPs include one Muslim, Waris Hayat Khan, from December 2003 to March 2004. There had been no Muslims among the 10 DGPs in Chhattisgarh and 32 in Goa.
Gujarat’s 25 included one Muslim – Shabir Hussein Khandwawala (2009). Haryana also had no Muslim among its 33 DGPs, as is the case with 14 in Himachal Pradesh. However, Jharkhand had a Muslim among 14 DGPs – Niyaz Ahmad (2010). Karnataka had a Muslim among 40 – AR Nizamuddin (October 1986-February 1990). In 2024, a Muslim became the DGP – MA Saleem.
Kerala had seen two DGPs among 36 – Mohammed Abdul Sathar Kunju (June 1997) and Dr Shaikh Darvesh Saheb, who retired in June 2025 after serving since June 2023. Maharashtra also had a Muslim among 47 DGPs – Sayyad Majeedullah (February 1965-January 1968). Manipur had two Muslims among 19 DGPs – A Siddiqui (May 2001-July 2002) and Shahid Ahamad (November 2013-January 2016). Meghalaya had one Muslim among 33 DGPs – A Rahman (April 1974-February 1980).
Mizoram and Nagaland have had no Muslims among their 13 and 23 DGPs, respectively, as is the case with Odisha’s 45. Punjab had seen a Muslim out of 41 DGPs – Dr. A Siddiqui (2003-2005). Rajasthan and Sikkim have had no Muslims among 35 and 18 DGPs, respectively, as is the case with Tamil Nadu’s 43 and Telangana’s three. Tripura had one Muslim among 12 DGPs – Dr K Saleem Ali (2010-2011).
Uttarakhand had no Muslims among the 12 DGPs in its history. India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, had seen three Muslims among its 71 DGPs – Islam Ahmed (IGP-1971), Rizwan Ahmad (January -February 2014), and S Javeed Ahmed (2016). In West Bengal, there had been no Muslims among the 31 DGPs till now.
In the Union Territories, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands had seen 36 police chiefs of whom one had been a Muslim – Nuzhat Hassan (June 2017-June 2018). Chandigarh had no Muslims among its 20 police chiefs, as is the case with the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu’s two.
NCT-Delhi had no Muslims among 26 chiefs, while Jammu & Kashmir had one Muslim among 36 chiefs – Peer G H Shah (May 1982 to January 1985). Lakshadweep had two Muslims among 26 chiefs – MA Sayed (April 1988- June 1990) and Qamar Ahmed (June 1990-October 1992). Puducherry’s 39 include two Muslims – MU Mulk (October 1958- April 1962) and AS Khan (2007-2008).
Hyderabad has a Police Commissionerate, working since 1847, making it the oldest in the country. The British government brought this police system to Calcutta and Madras in 1856 and to Bombay in 1864. As many as 70 have been Hyderabad police commissioners since 1847, of whom 18 have been Muslims, the last being AK Khan, from January 2010 to May 2012.
This system was brought to Ahmedabad and Delhi in the 1960s and 1970s, respectively. In 2021, Bhopal and Indore adopted the CP system. This system of policing gives CP more responsibilities, including magisterial powers to IG/DIG-ranked officers posted as commissioners. In this system, the Commissioner is the head of a unified police command structure; is responsible for the force in the city, and is accountable to the state government. The office has magisterial powers, including those related to regulation, control, and licensing.
Under the system, the commissioner does not report to the District Magistrate. In Mumbai and Delhi, he reports directly to the government. Almost all states, barring Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and K, and several Northeastern states have this system in place.
This system was introduced in the metropolitan cities of Tamil Nadu – Madurai and Coimbatore in April 1990, and Salem, Tiruchirappalli, and Tirunelveli in June 1997. Bhubaneswar-Cuttack had it in January 2008; Gurgaon in June 2007, Faridabad in August 2009, and Panchkula-Ambala in August 2011, and Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana in February 2010. Jaipur and Jodhpur got it in January 2011; Cyberabad in December 2003, along with Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara; Bidhannagar and Barrackpore in January 2012; and Kalaburagi in October 2018. Maharashtra has the most cities — 11 — with this police system.
In June 2019, the posts of Inspector General of Police of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram were changed to Commissioners of Police without any transfer of powers of the executive magistrate. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, several Northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh have yet to introduce the Police Commissionerate system. Policing is based on the Police Act of 1861, and 61 cities in 15 states had this system in place by January 2018, according to a BPRD report.
As of now, 71 metros and towns in 16 states and UTs are under the Police Commissionerate. The National Police Commission’s sixth report in 1983 recommended this system in cities with a population of five lakh and above, as well as in places having special conditions. In 2005, the Draft Model Police Act, framed by a committee set up by the Union Home Ministry, made a similar recommendation, saying metro cities and major urban areas with a population of 10 lakh or more should have this policing system.
In Haryana, Gurugram had one Muslim Police Commissioner – Mohammed Akil (February 2019-August 2020), Faridabad and Panchkula have had one Muslim each – Dr. Hanif Qureshi (2016–2018), Panchkula Dr Hanif Qureshi (April-November 2022). Bengaluru had seen two Muslims as police commissioners out of a total of 38 – Khader Ali (April 1966-October 1968) and AR Nizamuddin (December 1980-March 1983). Kalaburagi had seen one – M Abdulla Saleem (2013), Thiruvananthapuram had P K Mohammad Hasan (October 1967-February 1969).
Kochi had seen two – BS Mohammed Yasin (1998-2000), Dr Shaikh Darwesh Saheb (April 2002), Kozhikode have had three – VA Shafee (1977-78), J Ansari (1983-85), PM Abdul Khader (2000-2001), Kollam had Ajitha Begum while Thrissur had four – KV Mohammed (1957), Moinuddin Kunhi (1979), Dr Shaikh Darwesh Saheb (1998) and PM Abdul Khader (1999). Mumbai had three Muslims as police commissioners – S Majeed Ullah (March 1962-February 1965), Hassan Ghafoor (March 2008-June 2009), and Ahmed Javed (September 2015-January 2016), who had earlier been Nagpur’s commissioner in 2010-2012 and Solapur in 1997-1999. Nashik had SM Sayyad from June 2007 to April 2008. Amravati had SM Mushrif, and Amritsar had Mohammed Izhar Alam. The largest cities without CP (population above 1.5 million as per the Census 2011) are Patna, Ghaziabad, and Agra.
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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