National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, also called Ranganath Misra Commission, was constituted by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

on 29 October 2004 to look into various issues related to Linguistic and Religious minorities in India. It was chaired by former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

Justice

Ranganath Misra Ranganath Mishra (25 November 1926 – 13 September 2012) was the 21st Chief Justice of India, serving from 25 September 1990 to 24 November 1991. He was also the first chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He also served as ...

.Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Ranganath Misra Commission Report)
/ref> The commission submitted the report to the Government on 21 May 2007.

Terms of reference

Initially, the commission was entrusted with the following terms of reference: # To suggest criteria for identification of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities; # To recommend measures for welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities, including reservation in education and government employment; and # To suggest the constitutional, legal and administrative modalities required for the implementation of its recommendations. After nearly five months of its work the Commission’s Terms of Reference were modified so as to add the following: #To give its recommendations on the issues raised in WPs 180/04 and 94/05 filed in the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

, and in certain High Courts, relating to Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 in the context of the ceiling of 50 percent on reservations, as also the modalities for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Castes.

Main recommendations

* Give 10% quotas for Muslims and 5% for other minorities in government jobs and in seats in all the higher educational institutions (graduation and above) * Reserve 8.4% quota out of the existing OBC quota of 27% for religious minorities, mainly Muslims * Permit

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

s who convert to Islam or Christianity to avail of reservation benefits under the

Scheduled Caste The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

reservation quota.Para 3 of the Constitutional (Scheduled Caste)
/ref>

Leaked

TwoCircles.net, an online Indian news organization has started publishing excerpts from this report since June 2009.

Opposition

Since the submission India's national party, BJP has been opposing the Ranganath Misra's recommendation fiercely. In 2010, BJP's senior official and CM of Madhya Pradesh

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Shivraj Singh Chouhan (born 5 March 1959), is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the 17th and current Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, having been elected to the same position 3 times in the past, and a Member ...

stated "prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had opposed reservation for converted SCs and STs". In 2011, The BJP decided to file a PIL against a report recommending Scheduled Caste quotas for all minorities that could lead to Dalit Christians and Muslims coming within its ambit. On 9 February 2014,

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

during his prime-ministerial campaign in Kerala he critisied Mishra's report for creating "insecurities of the Dalit communities".

References

External links

Misra Commission Report Part-1Misra Commission Report Part-2
* ttp://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-slams-against-ranganath-mishra-commission-report-1405238 BJP slams against Ranganath Mishra commission reportbr>India’s Downtrodden Muslims
{{Indian commissions 2007 in India Indian commissions and inquiries Manmohan Singh administration Minorities-focussed government initiatives in India Linguistic minorities