India’s minority population grew from 16% to 21% since 1951. So why do polarising narratives dominate?

Former IPS officer and National Commission for Minorities Chairman Dr. Iqbal Singh Lalpura draws on 35 years of service in Punjab — including the 1981 arrest of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale — to contextualise India’s minority framework. He addresses the Khalistan movement as largely a diaspora phenomenon driven by immigration incentives rather than genuine Punjab sentiment, the Supreme Court’s stance on fraudulent conversion, and the anti-conversion laws that followed. His nuanced view challenges both appeasement politics and majoritarian anxiety, arguing that Punjab and India want peace, prosperity, and justice — not divisive slogans.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Iqbal Singh Lalpura (b. 1953) is Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities and a former IPS officer known for arresting Bhindranwale and investigating the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash. He served as DIG Punjab, worked with the FBI on militancy, and has authored several books.

Dr. Sabareesh P.A. holds a PhD from JNU and is the author of A Brief History of Science in India and Our Hindu Nationhood.