Rajinder Sachar, who led panel on condition of Muslims in India, dies at 94

The Sachar committee report underlined that while Muslims constituted 14% of Indian population, they comprised only 2.5% of Indian bureaucracy

Former Delhi High Court chief justice and activist Rajinder Singh Sachar, who brought to fore the socio-economic and educational conditions of the Muslim community in the country, passed away around noon on Friday in New Delhi. 

Rajinder Sachar, 94, was admitted to Fortis Hospital two weeks ago for treatment.  

The cremation will take place at Lodhi Road Electric Crematorium, at 5:30 pm on Saturday, according to media reports. 

"He was a patient of Ischemic heart disease and was put on pacemaker a couple of months ago. He had undergone stenting for blocked vessels in the heart," a family friend said, according to news agency PTI. "He was admitted to the hospital earlier this week. He was not able to take food and was having recurrent vomiting. He developed pneumonia and later succumbed to it," he said.

Who was Rajinder Singh Sachar?

Rajinder Singh Sachar, born on December 22, 1923, commenced his legal career in the early 1950 as an advocate in Shimla. Sachar later moved to the Supreme Court of India and practised civil, criminal and revenue cases. He had also served as the additional judge of the Delhi High Court for two years in 1972. 

A noted human rights activist, Sachar was the chief justice of Delhi High Court from August 6, 1985, to December 22, 1985.

The former chief justice chaired the Sachar Committee, constituted by the erstwhile Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The committee submitted a report on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims in India.

• Sachar was the additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 1972. 

• Was the chief justice of Sikkim High Court 

• Was a judge of Rajasthan High Court

Since his retirement, Sachar had been associated with the People's Union for Civil Liberties, a rights group.

What did the Sachar Committee do?

The Sachar Committee, under Rajinder Singh Sachar, revealed that Muslims in India were below Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in backwardness. The committee highlighted various obstacles faced by Indian Muslims and made recommendations to address those. 

Among the issues brought to light was that Muslims constituted 14 per cent of the Indian population but comprised only 2.5 per cent of the Indian bureaucracy. The Sachar Committee had found a mismatch between the percentage of Muslims in terms of its population and the key positions they held in the country, such as those at the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). By large, the seven-member committee highlighted the poor representation of the community in the police force. 

The committee also underlined the common notion held at the time that Muslims enjoyed more rights in Left-ruled states, and said this was not true, as Muslims in Gujarat were ahead of those in West Bengal in terms of various development indices.

The panel submitted a 403-page report in Parliament on November 2006 on how to remove the obstacles that were restricting the Muslim community from participating in the social, economic and political development of the country. 

In response to the Committee's findings, the then finance minister, P Chidambaram, proposed an increase in allocation to the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), citing new duties and expanded outreach that the institution would take on to implement the Committee's recommendations.

Protection of Human Rights Act

Before heading the Sachar Committee, he had voiced his concern on civil liberties in India and was one of the authors of the ‘Report on Kashmir situation’ in 1990. 

Sachar also reviewed the report submitted by the Protection of Human Rights Act and the committee in 2002. The committee had recommended amendments to the membership of the National Human Rights Commission and procedural changes to reduce any delay in following up the recommendations.

Reservation for women in Parliament 

Rajinder Sachar was one of the renowned people who demanded reservation for women in Parliament, saying the move would help in eliminating gender bias in legislature. 

With agency inputs