The commission, chaired by retired judge Devendra Kumar Arora and comprising former IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad and retired IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain, ties the demographic decline to 15 communal riots between 1947 and 2019. It details how repeated unrest and an atmosphere of fear prompted an exodus from the Hindu community.
According to the report, the most recent outbreak of violence was ignited during a court-mandated survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid by the Archaeological Survey of India. Tensions escalated, culminating in violent clashes that resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.
The report presents evidence of foreign-manufactured weapons—sourced from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany—used during the unrest, suggesting involvement of external actors. It also documents that rioters were reportedly mobilised from outside Sambhal, pointing to a pre‑meditated strategy aimed at destabilising communal harmony.
Political reactions emerged swiftly. Opposition parties questioned the leakage of confidential contents before the report’s official tabling, accusing the ruling party of politicising the findings to inflame communal divides. In contrast, government supporters described the demographic change as a stark and uncomfortable reality, underscoring it as a matter requiring urgent policy response.
The commission traced the roots of this demographic evolution to a pattern of communal disturbances compounded by alleged appeasement policies. It asserts that collective memory of repeated violence, along with political negligence, contributed to a climate in which Hindu residents felt compelled to leave.
Included in the report’s historical context are references to longstanding inter-community conflicts—such as tensions between Pathans and Turks—as well as the encroachment of sacred wells and pilgrimage sites over time. The commission flagged these developments as symptomatic of deeper structural challenges undermining communal equilibrium.