Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent attacks on religious minorities in India, notably Christians; and when they next intend to raise this issue with the government of India.

India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. The Indian government has a range of policies and programmes to support religious minorities. However, incidents of discrimination against minority communities in India do still occur.

Our High Commissioner in New Delhi met India’s new Minister of Minority Affairs, Dr Najma Heptulla, on 16 June to discuss a range of minority issues. Our High Commission in New Delhi discusses minority issues, including religious tolerance of Christians, with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with other relevant State level authorities. Minority rights were also discussed at the EU-India human rights dialogue on 27 November 2013. We will continue to maintain a dialogue with the new Indian government about minority rights issues.

We also support religious and other minorities in India through the Department for International Development’s programme in India which helps to promote equal treatment and access to services for the most disadvantaged communities.