National Commission for Minorities in its meeting held on 6.5.1997 decided to constitute a High-Powered Committee to undertake a fresh comprehensive study exclusively of the problems being faced by the major religious minorities of the country. Accordingly a Study Committee on Socio-economic and Educational Problems of Religious Minorities has been constituted. The composition of the Committee is as follows:

1. Rev. Habil James Massey, Member, NCM            Convenor and Chairman

2. Soli J. Sorabji, Jurist and Sr. Lawyer, Delhi          Member

3. Rev. Daniel Chetty, Director, Church Relations and Programme Deptt., Senate of Serampore, Bangalore.                                                                   Do

4. Iqbal Ansari, Secretary-General, Minorities Council of India, Aligarh.        Do

5. Asghar Ali Engineer, Director, Institute of Islamic Studies, Mumbai.          Do

6. Angne Lal, Vice-Chancellor, RML Oudh Vishwa Vidyalaya, Faizabad (UP).       Do

Terms of Reference:

i) To identify and study the social, economic, educational, cultural and other problems facing the principal religious minorities of India, probe into the causes of those problems, and suggest measures for their solution;

ii) to examine specifically the role, utility and impact of the PM's 15-Point Programme on Minorities (1983) and suggest ways and means for its effective implementation in letter and spirit;

iii) to identify and highlight the causes and constraints due to which union and state government's special welfare schemes, fiscal policies, earmarked facilities and plan strategies are not resulting into an adequate and satisfactory socio-economic upliftment of the concerned minorities, and suggest measures for the eradication of these causes and constraints;

iv) to examine the problems facing the concerned minorities in respect of their Constitutionally guaranteed Fundamental Rights for establishing and administering educational institutions of their choice, and suggest measures for their solution;

v) to make general and specific recommendations for an over all socio-economic and educational advancement of the concerned minorities and suggest the required legal and administrative reforms for achieving the same.

(Source: LSUQ No. 1001 dated 29 July, 1997 by M. Sirpotdar and S.K. Gangwar)