Four community members have been nominated as members of "panel of associates” of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). They are Jehangir Bisney for Telangana, Neville Deboo for Maharashtra, Aspi Damania for Daman (union territory) and Porus Debara for Uttar Pradesh.
The community members are to "aid, advise and guide the Commission for achievement of its mandate for the welfare and development of minority communities,” shared NCM vice chairman Kersi Deboo. "(They will) take up with the Commission all matters with respect to their communities for promoting welfare schemes for minorities in that respective state for which they are nominated.”
The vice chairman told Parsiana on February 8, 2023, "As desired by our chairman (Iqbal Singh Lalpura) all of the commission members were requested to nominate a community leader in their states, who can help the members at the local level and forward the problem if any, to NCM… (The representative will) assist the visiting members in their state… arranging meetings, etc… This is completely honorary work and nothing to do with the state minority commissions.”
Bisney informed Parsiana on February 12 that the Telangana State Minorities Commission "is disbanded.” Businessman Gusti Noria had represented the community on that state’s minority commission. Calcutta Zoroastrian Community’s Religious and Charity Fund trustee Cyrus Madan continues to be the Parsi representative on the West Bengal (WB) state commission. Twenty-seven percent of WB’s population is Muslim, Madan informed Parsiana on February 12.
Farrokh Jijina