In a departure from convention, a Sikh, Iqbal Singh Lalpura has been appointed as Chairman of the Minorities Commission, called NCM. It is only for the third time in 43 years that a non-Muslim has been appointed as Chairman. Minoo Masani in 1978 was the first Chairman, but quit after 3 months. Sardar Tarlochan Singh was appointed in 2003 by ABV govt. Sanjay Dixit traces the history of minority politics in the country, which is almost synonymous with Muslim politics in India, and nothing has been done to quell the separatist tone of Muslim politics by any party.
