National Commission for Minorities (NCM)  
Like the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Minorities has taken serious issue with the state response to the ongoing violence in Gujarat.³¹⁶ In addition to conducting an investigation in Gujarat's capital, Ahmedabad, in mid-March, the NCM summoned top state officials to appear before it in New Delhi on April 6, 2002, after the state failed to respond to its request for a report on the action it had taken thus far to stem the violence in early March.³¹⁷ This is not the first time that the NCM has investigated and commented upon violence against a religious minority in Gujarat. In 1998, the NCM investigated attacks against the Christian community in the state.³¹⁸ Thus far the NCM is "`not satisfied with steps so far taken by the Gujarat administration to protect minorities.'"³¹⁹ Similar to the NHRC, the NCM has found that despite government claims to the contrary, "normalcy" has not returned to Gujarat.³²⁰ As a result, the NCM has made public recommendations for the government of Gujarat that it believes will further the protection of human rights in the state. 

Police operations in Gujarat have come under close scrutiny by the commission. Because it has found that minority communities still fear and distrust the state, it has recommended that police officers from minority communities be immediately deployed in violence-prone areas.³²¹ If no minority police officers are available, the commission has recommended that they be recruited from other states.³²² In addition, the NCM has taken issue with the transfer of police officers who tried to stop mobs from attacking Muslims. It has requested the state to immediately end this practice.³²³ The commission has also recommended that the state punish those officers who did not perform their duties during communal violence.³²⁴ 

The NCM has also called on the Gujarat state government to immediately repair and restore all damaged places of worship. At present, it is estimated that over 500 places of worship were destroyed by mob violence.³²⁵ Among the places of worship destroyed was the Malik Asin mosque, a nationally protected monument that was destroyed by bulldozers.³²⁶ The NCM in addition expressed its concern about the safety of the tens of thousands of persons in relief camps in Gujarat. It has recommended that the state government shift these persons to more secure sites and to allocate land specifically for that purpose.³²⁷ 

³¹⁶ The National Commission for Minorities is an autonomous, statutory body created pursuant to the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. The Commission has all the powers of a civil court trying a suit but like the National Human Rights Commission, its recommendations are not enforceable.  

³¹⁷ "Minorities Commission Summons Top Gujarat Officials," rediff.com, April 1, 2002, http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/apr/01train.htm (accessed April 25, 2002).  

³¹⁸ Human Rights Watch, "Politics By Other Means." 

³¹⁹ Zafar Agha, "NCM Give Gujarat Leaders a Piece of its Mind," tehelka.com, April 8, 2002, http://www.tehelka.com (accessed April 15, 2002). 

³²⁰ Kota Neelima, "Bring Back Shunted Cops, NCM Tells CM," Indian Express, April 7, 2002. See also, Onkar Singh, "Restore Normalcy in Gujarat: Minorities Panel," rediff.com, April 6, 2002, http://www.rediff.com (accessed April 15, 2002).  

³²¹ "No let-up in Gujarat Violence," BBC News, April 6, 2002. See also, "NCM raps Modi Govt, Wants More Minorities in Police," Hindustan Times, April 7. 2002; Neelima, "Bring Back Shunted Cops."  

³²² Ibid. 

³²³ Narendra Kaushik, "Minorities Commission Slam Gujarat Chief Secy," Mid Day, April 7, 2002. See also, Onkar Singh, "Restore Normalcy in Gujarat: Minorities Panel," rediff.com, April 6, 2002. 

³²⁴ Ibid. 

³²⁵ Narendra Kaushik, "Minorities Commission Slam Gujarat Chief Secy." 

³²⁶ "ASI Urged to Rebuild Mosques," Hindu, March 22, 2002 

³²⁷ "NCM Wants Safe Sites to Rehabilitate Riot Victims," Times of India, March 17, 2002. See also, "No let-up in Gujarat Violence," BBC News.