Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the persecution and murder of Christians and members of other minority religious groups in India.

The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions maintain a continuous assessment of the human rights situation across India, talking regularly to the Government of India, including about freedom of religion or belief. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India: the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised these issues on several occasions with the Indian High Commissioner in London and his opposite number in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. We also continue to engage Indian religious leaders of all faiths and to support Indian partners to promote interfaith relations among young people