Minority Commission team to visit Saharanpur next week to probe caste-based violence

New Delhi: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) will visit Saharanpur next week to gather first hand information on the repeated instances of caste clashes in the area. NCM member Sulekha Kumbhare, who took her place in the panel on Tuesday, said members would tour the Uttar Pradesh town after their first meeting and assess whether injustice was meted out to any community. “All the team members will visit Saharanpur next week to assess ground realities. Justice should be ensured… But we need to check the factual position first,” the former Maharashtra minister said. [caption id=“attachment_3497085” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Saharanpur violence. News18[/caption] The cycle of violence in Saharanpur began on 5 May when a man was killed, several injured and around 25 homes set ablaze in Shabbirpur village. According to Kumbhare, the NCM will work like a bridge between the Centre and communities. She also pitched for educational as well as financial empowerment of minorities in a bid to bring them into the mainstream and boost their confidence. “To be able to do that, you will need to empower them educationally,” she added. Kumbhare also favoured giving more teeth to the panel, which is entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding interests of minorities, by offering it constitutional status. The NCM is at present a statutory body. Former national secretary of BJP’s minority morcha Gairul Hasan Rizvi is chairman of the panel. George Kurian, the saffron party’s leader from Kerala, is his deputy. The other members of the Commission are Jain leader from Gujarat Sunil Singhi and Parsi representative Vada Dasturji Khurshed Kaikobad Dastoor. Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi and Jain are the six notified minority communities in the country. The NCM was set up under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 to look into complaints from members of five religious communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis).