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India: Religious Freedom

Volume 497: debated on Thursday 22 October 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of India on reported persecution of Christians in Orissa state; and if he will make a statement. (293668)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not discussed the situation of Christians in Orissa State with the Government of India. When the violence perpetrated against these communities occurred in 2008, my noble Friend, the former Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch Brown, raised the issue with his Indian counterpart. Our high commission in New Delhi continues to maintain a constructive dialogue with the Indian authorities about human rights and issues that affect all India's minority groups.