Ranganath Misra Commission (2007)

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities · Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Ranganath Misra Commission, formally the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, gave its report in 2007. It studied how to help backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities. It made two main proposals:

  • 15% reservation for minorities (10% for Muslims), or else an 8.4% minority sub-quota inside the OBC quota;
  • delinking SC status from religion, so that Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims could become SCs.

Neither proposal was implemented.

Example

In December 2011, the Centre created a 4.5% minority sub-quota inside the OBC quota, close to one of the commission's ideas. The Andhra Pradesh High Court struck it down in 2012.

Don't confuse with

  • Sachar Committee (2006): this collected facts on the socio-economic status of Muslims and proposed an Equal Opportunity Commission. Ranganath Misra proposed quotas and a change in SC status.

Related concepts

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