01/20/2021 United Kingdom (International Christian Concern) – In a recent parliamentary debate, members of the UK Parliament criticized India for its poor treatment of religious minorities. While the situation in Jammu Kashmir constituted the majority of the discussion, the debate also addressed treatment of Christians and Muslims. India has moved systematically against Muslim communities under the guise of antiterrorism and has implemented policy that directly discriminates against Muslims and Christians.
Christian persecution has been on the rise significantly in India since the Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Members of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have continued an aggressive agenda of discrimination against Christians and other religious minorities. These minorities consistently face the dual threat of discriminatory policies from the state and communal violence from other citizens.
The UK parliament’s criticism of India on their religious freedom track record over the last few years was dismissed by Indian officials as a series of false assertions.
The Indian government historically has been extremely critical of foreign countries discussing India’s religious freedom and human rights lapses. The government recently dismissed a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom that condemned India’s ongoing systemic persecution of religious minorities. The report also recommended to the US Department of State that India should be labeled as a Country of Particular Concern.
Indian state governments are also continuing to pass more laws known as the anti-forced conversion laws, which are especially discriminatory against Indian Christians. These laws deliberately restrict propagation of the gospel and other forms of evangelism. The BJP claims that these laws are for protecting Indian citizens from coercive methods of conversion, without any evidence that such coercive methods exist.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator press@persecution.org
