New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 14 constituted three member Delhi Minorities Commission with the assent of Lt. Governor, Delhi, Anil Baijal.
Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Commission while Sister Anastasia Gill and and Kartar Singh Kochhar will be members of the commission. As per provision the term of the Delhi Minorities Commission will be for three years.
A renowned scholar and journalist, Zafarul-Islam Khan, is a Phd from Manchester University in Islamic Studies. He has worked for several International Organizations.
Sister Gill, a member of the Presentation congregation, is a Supreme Court lawyer. She is known as Sister Sneha in her congregation.
Kejriwal approved and recommended all the three names after proposed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, The Indian awaaz reported.
The commission had completed its tenure earlier this year and the Divisional Commissioner cum Secretary (Revenue) mooted the proposal to the Government for taking decision to appoint the Chairman and members of the Commission.
Zafarul Islam Khan is an author and journalist. He is currently editor and publisher of The Milli Gazette fortnightly focusing on issues concerning minority in India. He is the founder and chairman of Charity Alliance, an organisation involved in relief and welfare work in India. He was also President of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Muslim organisations in India.
He is author and translator of over 40 books in Arabic, English and Urdu including Hijrah in Islam (Delhi, 1996) and Palestine Documents (New Delhi 1998). He has contributed several articles to the Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden) on Indo-Muslim themes.
He is a regular commentator on Islamic and South Asian issues on radio and TV channels, including Al Jazeera and BBC Arabic and his writings appear in Arabic newspapers and magazines.