Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of persecution of Christians in India; and what steps he is taking to help support persecuted Christians in India.

The UK Government is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, discussed human rights with the Government of India, leaders of faith groups and others during his visit to India in May. Where we have issues, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India, consistently monitor human rights in the country, regularly engage with civil society and religious representatives, and have run projects supporting human rights.