SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir registered its lowest number of petitions before the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in five years, with only 11 complaints filed during 2025-26, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The figure is down from 17 complaints in 2024-25 and marks a sharp decline from the 62 petitions recorded in 2023-24, the highest during the five-year period.
The figures were released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in response to a question on petitions received by the National Commission for Minorities. The year-wise data shows that Jammu and Kashmir recorded 17 complaints in 2021-22, 35 in 2022-23, 62 in 2023-24, 17 in 2024-25 and 11 in 2025-26, indicating a steep fall in complaints after the spike witnessed two years ago.
Nationally, the Commission received 2,076 petitions in 2021-22, rising to 2,423 in 2022-23, before declining to 1,999 in 2023-24 and 1,390 in 2024-25. During 2025-26, complaints increased marginally to 1,669, but remained well below the levels reported during the first three years.
The Ministry’s data also provides a detailed picture of the nature of grievances reaching the Commission. Complaints against police officials emerged as one of the largest categories throughout the period, increasing from 681 cases in 2021-22 to 865 in 2022-23, 861 in 2023-24, before declining to 667 in 2024-25 and 712 in 2025-26.
Complaints against government officials also remained consistently high, with 415 petitions in 2021-22, rising to 551 in 2022-23, 912 in 2023-24, easing to 706 in 2024-25, and 1,246 in 2025-26, making it the single largest category in the latest year.
Law and order-related grievances fluctuated over the five-year period. The Commission received 378 complaints in 2021-22, 303 in 2022-23, 386 in 2023-24, 415 in 2024-25, and 577 in 2025-26, indicating a noticeable rise during the latest year.
Complaints relating to religious rights also formed a substantial share of the Commission’s work. These stood at 607 cases in 2021-22, 309 in 2022-23, 126 in 2023-24, 131 in 2024-25, and increased sharply to 531 in 2025-26.
Wakf-related disputes remained comparatively limited but persistent, with 54 complaints in 2021-22, 93 in 2022-23, 62 in 2023-24, 13 in 2024-25, and 141 in 2025-26.
Issues concerning cultural rights were among the least reported. The Commission received 80 complaints in 2021-22, 103 in 2022-23, 62 in 2023-24, 13 in 2024-25, and 145 in 2025-26.
The data also shows that educational matters continued to generate a significant number of petitions, while complaints relating to land disputes, economic issues, harassment of women, communal violence and hate crime or hate speech constituted relatively smaller proportions of the Commission’s overall workload.
Community-wise, Muslims accounted for the largest number of petitions every year, with complaints numbering 1,420 in 2021-22, 1,557 in 2022-23, 1,246 in 2023-24, 855 in 2024-25, and 1,067 in 2025-26. Complaints from the Sikh community ranged between 142 and 330 annually, Christians between 95 and 148, Jains between 67 and 109, Buddhists between 35 and 83, while petitions from Parsis remained in single or low double digits each year.
State-wise, Uttar Pradesh consistently recorded the highest number of petitions, followed by Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. By comparison, Jammu and Kashmir’s 11 complaints in 2025-26 placed it among the States and Union Territories reporting relatively few petitions before the Commission.
Replying to another part of the question, the Ministry said the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 does not prescribe any statutory timeline for disposal of complaints, although the Commission attempts to dispose of petitions as expeditiously as possible. It also informed Parliament that no study has been undertaken in recent years by the Commission on incidents of hate speech or attacks against minorities.
