Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, sources said today. Mr Lalpura, a BJP spokesperson from Punjab's Sikh community, has authored several books on Sikh philosophy and history.
He has also won several awards such as the President's Police Medal, a police medal for meritorious services, Shiromani Sikh Sahitkar Award and Sikh scholar award.
Atif Rasheed is the Commission's vice chairperson while five posts are vacant, according to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) website. The last chairperson of the commission was Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi.
Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court had asked the Centre to explain why six of the seven posts at the NCM are lying vacant since October last year.
The Union government had set up the NCM under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
Initially, five religious communities - Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) - were notified as minority communities by the Union government. Further through a notification, dated January 27, 2014, Jains were also notified as a minority community.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Rohan Gupta, Another Ex-Spokesperson, With Congress For 15 Years, Joins BJP BJP's Shehzad Poonawala Rips Into Gehlot Government Over Law And Order, Women's Safety, Shares Piece Of Advice For 'Rahul-Ji' Is This The Idea Of INDIA: BJP To Opposition Over 'Vande Mataram' Row Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai BJP Subtly Asking Ajit Pawar To Quit "Mahayuti": Sharad Pawar's NCP Secret Service Head To Testify To US House Panel On Trump Shooting Florida Man Arrested For Making Threats Against Biden 4 Killed, 3 Missing In Landslide In Karnataka Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.