Minorities Panel Received 1,189 Complaints During Apr-Dec 2017

As many as 907 complaints were received from Muslims, the largest minority community in the country.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) received 1,189 complaints between April and December 2017, and disposed of 1050 of them, data made available by the panel has revealed.

According to the data made available on its website earlier this week, 907 complaints were received from Muslims – the largest minority community in the country.

The tiniest share of the complaints received were from Parsis. The smallest minority community filed three complaints.

Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists made 74, 65, 37 and 13 complaints, respectively. Ninety grievances came from those belonging to communities other than the six notified minorities.

A total of 707 complaints were related to law and order.

The commission received 101, 65, 42 and 40 complaints on matters relating to service, education, Waqf and religious rights, respectively. Grievances related to other issues were 225 in number.

Speaking to reporters, NCM chairman Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi said, the panel was taking steps to ensure speedy redressal of complaints received.

We have decided to introduce e-office to help complainants monitor the status of action taken on their complaints.

NCM chairman Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi 

Referring to grievances made by members of communities other than the minorities, the NCM chairman said the panel had been going "out of its way" to help the needy by forwarding their complaints to the departments concerned.

In the last fiscal year, the commission received 1,647 complaints, of which 1,599 were disposed of. In 2014-15 and 2015-16, the panel registered 1,995 and 1,974 complaints, respectively.

The NCM was formed under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, to safeguard and protect the interests of minorities provided in the Constitution and laws enacted by Parliament and state legislatures.

Aggrieved people belonging to the communities can approach the concerned State Minorities Commissions for redressal of their grievances.

They can approach the NCM after exhausting all remedies available to them, its website says.

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