Justice is the utmost want for anyone who has seen suffering: New chief of Minorities Commission

The government on Wednesday appointed Iqbal Singh Lalpura, former IPS officer, to lead the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). The appointment comes at a time when the Punjab elections is just a few months away and in the midst of the farmers’ protests, started mainly by Sikh farmers.

The last Sikh chairman of the body was Sardar Tarlochan Singh, an MP then, who was appointed by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2003. Tarlochan Singh was known for his work in rehabilitating Afghan Sikhs in India, and moving a bill to recognise Sikhism as a religion separate from Hinduism.

Lalpura, who belongs to Rupnagar district, had served as SSP of Amritsar Rural, Kapurthala and Tarn Taran districts, and was also one of the three police officials handpicked to arrest Sikh secessionist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in April 1981. Lalpura was also an investigating officer for the 1978 Sikh Nirankari clash.

Recently, the Delhi High Court had asked the Centre to explain why six of the seven posts at the NCM have been lying vacant since October last year. The court had also extended the deadline given to the Centre to nominate persons to all the vacant positions in the body within two months.

Lalpura is part of many Sikh social organisations and has authored 14 books on the Sikh religious scriptures. An upcoming book of his highlights his experiences dealing with militants. Lalpura joined the BJP in 2012 and was appointed party spokesperson.

Lalpur, who was also the one to retrieve the body of police officer AS Atwal from the Golden Temple, told ET that “justice is the utmost want for anyone who has seen suffering” and that he would use his new responsibility to deliver the same. “I will stand with them (minority) and ensure the law of the land is implemented”.

“The feeling of insecurity that some minority communities talk about is because of rumours and false information. All of us, including minority communities, think of ourselves as citizens of the country first. We are all children of Bharatmata and only the interest of the country should matter to us. There are external challenges in terms of security, and we must be mindful of that,” he said. With respect to the Sikh community, he said “India was the home to Sikhs and the community swears its allegiance by the country.”

Many individuals of repute have led the NCM in the recent past, including former vice-president and diplomat Mohammad Hamid Ansari, politician Mohamed Shafi Qureshi, who was also the founder of the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, former bureaucrat and Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and former VC of Aligarh Muslim University Naseem Ahmad. Almost all chairpersons of the body, except twice, have been Muslims till now, since 1978.