|
New Delhi, Oct. 1: The Union home ministry has asked the directors-general of all the central paramilitary forces to recruit more minorities, especially Muslims.
“The ministry is unhappy at the low representation of minorities in the paramilitary. It is taking measures to see that people from the minority communities, Maoist-affected regions and women have better and adequate representation in these forces,” a ministry official said.
“It will also help build confidence among minorities,” he added. “Senior paramilitary officials have been asked to conduct special coaching classes for the physical and written examinations (for the recruitment tests) in minority-preponderant areas to attract more youths.”
A month ago, the Centre had requested all states to deploy more Muslim police in areas with large minority populations, which translates into a plea to recruit more Muslims to their police forces, most of which are woefully short of minority personnel.
The latest directive came in a letter junior home minister Jitendra Singh sent to the paramilitary chiefs.
Documents accessed by The Telegraph show that the CRPF, the country’s largest paramilitary force, recruited only a handful of minority personnel in 2009 and 2010. (See chart)
“The numbers do not look adequate,” the official conceded. He said that in the next few months, the ministry would begin the recruitment process to fill around one lakh paramilitary vacancies.
The ministry is also keen to have more women in the paramilitary forces, regarded usually as a male bastion. “A special drive will be undertaken to recruit more women and people from remote areas such as Maoist zones,” the official said.
|
