The Honourable Mr. Justice Rajindar Sachar, a discussant at the Cairo workshop, has held many roles within the political sphere. Chief Justice (Retired) of the High Court of Delhi, UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, a member of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (Ex.), and the Former President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Rajindar Sachar has been both a delegate and key note speaker at several conventions and seminars worldwide.

Appointed Judge of the High Court of Delhi in 1970, Mr. Sachar has had a varied and significant political history. He was a delegate to World Congress on Law and Medicine held in February 1985, in New Delhi and was appointed as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in August of the same year. Taking an active part in Human Rights issues, Mr. Sachar is dedicated to improving the situation and welfare of disenfranchised minority groups.  In 1992, Mr. Sachar was appointed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to engage in a two year study on the issue of promoting and realising the Right to Adequate Housing, presenting his final paper in 1995.

Mr. Sachar has been honoured with many prestigious awards as recognition of his significant contribution to political and legal change. Nominated as a member of the Senate of Punjab University in 2000, Mr. Sachar was also granted a PhD (Honoris Causa) from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar Faculty of Law, in March 2001. In 2002, Mr. Sachar was awarded the Capital Foundation Award for outstanding achievement in Human Rights.  He has written various articles which have been published in Human Rights: Perspectives and Challenges (2004).

In March 2005, Mr. Sachar was appointed as Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee for Preparation of Report on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India.  More recently, in 2006, Mr. Sachar submitted The Report to the Prime Minister of India. This report is now known as the Sachar Committee Report. The implementation of this report was part of the Election Manifestos of all the major political parties including the present UPA, in the recent elections held to Indian Parliament in May 2009.

Mr. Sachar is a member of the Indo-Pak Friendship Association and the Indo-Pak Dialogues Group and continues to take an active role in the political sphere.

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