The Central government has appointed Harjit Singh Grewal as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), while nominating S Munawari Begum as the Vice-Chairperson and Glenn E Souza Ticlo as a Member of the statutory body constituted under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
The appointments were notified by the Ministry of Minority Affairs on Friday under Sections 3 and 4 of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. According to the notification, the appointments will take effect from the date the nominees assume office, and each will hold office for a term of three years in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Grewal succeeds former NCM Chairperson Iqbal Singh Lalpura, whose tenure ended in April 2025, filling a vacancy that had remained unoccupied for more than a year. His appointment also marks the second consecutive term in which a Sikh leader has headed the Commission.
A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Punjab, Grewal has been associated with the party’s outreach among the Sikh community and has held several organisational positions. He has also served in the BJP’s farmers’ wing and frequently represented the party’s position during the farmers’ protests through media interactions. In recent years, his public political role had become less prominent following organisational changes within the Punjab unit of the BJP.
Alongside Grewal’s appointment, the Centre has appointed S. Munawari Begum as the Vice-Chairperson, representing the Muslim community, and Glenn E. Souza Ticlo as a Member representing the Christian community. With these appointments, the National Commission for Minorities now has four members against its sanctioned strength of seven.
The National Commission for Minorities is a statutory body established under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, to safeguard the rights and interests of notified minority communities.
The Commission is entrusted with monitoring the implementation of constitutional and statutory safeguards available to minorities, examining complaints regarding deprivation of their rights, conducting inquiries into specific grievances, reviewing the progress of minority welfare measures, and advising the Central Government on policy and legislative issues affecting minority communities. The latest appointments are intended to strengthen the functioning of the Commission and facilitate the discharge of its statutory mandate.
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