There has been no meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC), the apex body mandated to fight communalism, casteism, regionalism and parochialism, after the NDA formed the government in 2014, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Lok Sabha member Raksha Nikhil Khadse sought answer to her question as to whether the government proposes to reconstitute the National Integration Council (NIC) chaired by the Prime Minister and if the last meeting of NIC was held on September 23, 2013.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, said, "Meetings of the National Integration Council (NIC) are convened as per requirement from time to time. There is no regular or specified time interval for convening meetings of the NIC. The last meeting of the NIC was held on 23.09.2013. However, issues of communal harmony and national integration are addressed continuously by the government."
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The National Integration Council (NIC) had originated in a conference convened by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in September-October of 1961.
The purpose was to find ways to address the problems of communalism, casteism and regionalism. The conference set up the NIC to review national integration issues and make recommendations. The NIC met for the first time in June 1962.
The NIC was reconstituted and met again in August 2005. The new council had 103 members, including 12 Chief Ministers, 12 Union ministers and leaders of all the main political parties.
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In April 2010, the NIC was again reconstituted with 147 members.
The Supreme Court had commended the role of the National Integration Council in finding ways to counter the problems facing the country, including attachment to specific communities, castes, regions and languages.
