National Commission for Men needed, says Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal
Synopsis
A new research report documenting 419 husband murders and 426 male suicides in 2025 alone has given fresh impetus to a long-pending demand: a statutory National Commission for Men. Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal's public call at the Ekam Nyaay Dialogue in Chandigarh marks the first clear parliamentary push for the idea, framing it not as a counter to women's rights but as a missing pillar of gender-neutral justice.
Key Takeaways
Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal called for a National Commission for Men at the Ekam Nyaay Dialogue in Chandigarh on 30 August .
A new research report documented 419 husband and intimate partner murders and 426 male suicides in 2025 , up from 244 murders and 277 suicides in 2024 .
The data is based on media-reported incidents and highlights the absence of formal government data on male victimisation.
Mittal proposed the commission as a multi-disciplinary body covering research, legal awareness, counselling, and family law reform — not as a counter to women's institutions.
He also advocated stronger shared parenting principles, calling it a child-rights issue rather than a fathers'-rights issue.
Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Ashok Kumar Mittal on 30 August called for establishing a National Commission for Men in India, describing it as an urgent institutional need for research, prevention, legal awareness and mental health support. His remarks came at the Ekam Nyaay Dialogue in Chandigarh, where a new research report on husband murders and male suicides was formally unveiled.
Key Findings of the Research Report
The report, titled 'Husband murder by wife and intimate partner and suicide by men — A research report and analysis on incidents reported in the media in the Years 2024 and 2025', documented 244 husband and intimate partner murder cases in 2024, rising to 419 in 2025. It also recorded 277 husband or intimate partner suicide cases in 2024 and 426 in 2025. The data, drawn from media reports, underscores what the report describes as a gap in formal data collection and public understanding of issues affecting men.
What MP Mittal Said
Mittal was careful to frame the proposal as complementary to, not competing with, existing protections for women. 'Can there be true justice if some voices are still unheard? This is not a question of taking away anyone's rights, and it is certainly not a question of standing against women. India has made important progress in protecting women's safety, dignity and rights, and that progress must continue. But in this journey towards justice, genuine concerns relating to men cannot be ignored,' he said.
He stressed that the numbers documented in the report must not become mere statistics. 'Behind every number is a person, a family and a story. These numbers remind us that men's safety, mental health and well-being also need our attention,' Mittal said, adding that men should be able to seek counselling 'without fear or judgement.'
What the Proposed Commission Would Do
Mittal outlined a broad mandate for the proposed commission, envisioning it as a multi-disciplinary platform bringing together researchers, legal experts, counsellors, social workers and policymakers. Its functions, he said, would span genuine grievance redressal, legal awareness, counselling and mental health support, study of family disputes and parental alienation, examination of domestic abuse against men, and analysis of male suicide patterns.
He emphasised that the body should have a strong prevention focus — including early distress identification, family support, professional referrals and mediation — so that problems are addressed 'before they escalate into irreversible tragedies.'
Children and Shared Parenting
Mittal also called for the commission to examine shared parenting principles, advocating meaningful access to both parents in cases where no safety concerns exist. He described this not as a fathers'-rights issue but as a child-rights issue, arguing that children's developmental interests must be central to any family law reform discussion.
Broader Context
India currently has the National Commission for Women (NCW), established under a 1990 Act, as its primary statutory body for gender-specific concerns. No equivalent body exists for men. The Ekam Nyaay Dialogue, where the report was presented, brings together legal professionals, researchers and civil society voices on issues of gender justice and family law. Mittal's call adds a parliamentary voice to what has so far remained a largely civil-society debate, potentially raising the political salience of the proposal.
Point of View
But Mittal's parliamentary platform gives it a new weight that is harder to dismiss. The report's numbers — drawn from media monitoring rather than state data — also expose a structural gap: India has no official mechanism to track male victimisation in intimate partner violence, which means the actual scale is almost certainly larger than documented. The framing matters too: positioning this as a child-rights and mental health issue, rather than a men-versus-women contest, is the only political path that avoids a zero-sum backlash. Whether Parliament picks it up as a legislative priority, or it remains a dialogue-circuit talking point, will be the real test.
NationPress
30 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the National Commission for Men proposed by MP Ashok Kumar Mittal?
It is a proposed statutory body that would serve as a national platform for research, legal awareness, counselling, mental health support, and policy reform on issues affecting men in India. MP Mittal unveiled the proposal at the Ekam Nyaay Dialogue in Chandigarh on 30 August, framing it as complementary to, not competing with, the existing National Commission for Women.
What does the research report on husband murders and male suicides show?
The report documented 419 husband and intimate partner murder cases in 2025, up from 244 in 2024, and 426 male suicide cases in 2025, up from 277 in 2024. The figures are based on incidents identified through media reports and highlight the need for formal government data on male victimisation.
Why does India not already have a National Commission for Men?
India's National Commission for Women was established under a 1990 Act, but no equivalent statutory body for men has been created. The demand has existed within civil society for years; Mittal's call at a public dialogue marks one of the first clear parliamentary-level endorsements of the idea.
Would a National Commission for Men weaken protections for women?
MP Mittal explicitly argued it would not. He stated the commission 'should not be against any existing women's institution and should not weaken the rights of women,' describing its purpose as understanding and solving problems affecting men while allowing existing progress on women's rights to continue.
What role would shared parenting play in the proposed commission's mandate?
Mittal advocated examining stronger shared parenting principles to ensure children have meaningful access to both parents where no safety concerns exist. He framed this as a child-rights issue rather than a fathers'-rights issue, suggesting it should be part of any broader family law reform the commission recommends.
