ICC Note:
Following India’s election of the Hindu nationalist party, BJP, in May, the plight of religious minorities in India has gotten worse. Many international news outlets are reporting on increased attacks and more restrictions as India’s new government attempts to make India more of a Hindu nation. These reports has caused the European Parliament to put forward the question of whether or not anyone is truly monitoring the situation in India. Please pray that this questions leads to greater action being taken on behalf of religious minorities in India, including Christians.
8/5/2014 India (Kashmir Media Service) – Member of the European Parliament, Viorica Dancila, today put forward a question to the European Commission regarding the Prime Minister of India Narender Modi’s past record in keeping minorities safe in India.
The question was directed under Rule 130 to the European Commission, said a press release issued by Karen Jones, Press Release Department.
The text of the question goes as under:
Following the general elections held in India last May, Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected Prime Minister. However, recent reports in the international media have expressed great concern over Modi’s past record and nationalist agenda. Modi, a member of a Hindu nationalist party, has been criticised for his role in the deadly Gujarat Hindu-Muslim riots of 2002 in which more than 1,000 members of the Muslim community lost their lives. Modi was Chief Minister of the state at the time.
India’s 1.3 billion population comprises a large number of minority groups, including Christians, Muslims and others.
Is the EU monitoring the situation in India regarding minority rights and the policy that the new Indian leadership intends to pursue on this matter?
Are the issue of the large proportion of India’s population living in conditions of extreme poverty and the initiatives that will provide greater access to education and food safety part of the ongoing EU-India FTA negotiations?
…
