Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of statements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding minority communities in India including Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Dalits, and how in the light of those statements Prime Minister Modi’s visit to London will enhance community cohesion.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
India is a country with a strong history of democracy and pluralism, which guarantees human rights within its constitution. During the press conference with the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), Prime Minister Modi was clear in his commitment to and respect for India’s core values of tolerance and freedoms, as well as reaffirming the importance of social harmony and inclusive development.
Mr Modi repeated these messages in his address in Parliament and at Wembley Stadium, where 60,000 British Indians of all faiths turned out to welcome Prime Minister Modi to the UK.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Indian government on the treatment of Sikhs in India.
Answered by Lord Swire
The British High Commission in India regularly discusses the treatment of minorities, including the Sikh community, with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and other relevant State level authorities. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Lynne Featherstone), during her visit to India in January also discussed a range of minority issues with India’s Minister of Minority Affairs, Dr Najma Heptulla.
We will continue to monitor the situation, and maintain a dialogue with the Indian government and authorities about minority rights issues.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the treatment by the government of India of Muslims, Sikhs and Christians in that country and its impact on the cohesiveness of that country.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Constitution of India 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. More recently, Prime Minister Modi reassured religious groups that every citizen has the right to follow any faith without coercion and vowed to protect all religious groups in India. However, we are aware that incidents of discrimination against minority communities do happen.
British Ministers and officials from our High Commission in New Delhi discuss religious and minority issues with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and senior faith leaders. Most recently Minister of State at the Home Office with responsibility for Crime Prevention, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), met the Indian Minister for Minorities in January. During their visit to India in February, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association also met the Indian Minister for Minorities and discussed religious freedom. We will continue to maintain a dialogue with the new Indian government about religious and minority rights issues.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to honour in London the contribution of Indian troops to the First World War.
Answered by Helen Grant
Up to 1.5 million volunteers from India served on various fronts during the First World War. The role India played in the Gallipoli campaign will be reflected in the UK's commemorative services being held at Cape Helles in Turkey and at the Cenotaph in London on 24th and 25th April respectively.
The DCMS is facilitating a multi faith event at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester on 10th March, the centenary of the second Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the first major engagement of Indian troops on the Western Front. This is bringing together British Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs to honour the contribution of their forebears and to commit themselves to continue working together for the good of society.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Indian government on the treatment of Sikhs in India.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of Gurbaksh Singh’s hunger strike in protest of the continued detention of Sikh prisoners, and closely monitor both this and the general human rights situation in India.
In June 2014, British High Commissioner to India Sir James Bevan met India's new Minister of Minority Affairs, Dr Najma Heptulla, to discuss a range of minority issues. Officials from the British High Commission in New Delhi also hold regular discussions on these issues, including those of the Sikh community, with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with other relevant State level authorities. We will continue to maintain a dialogue with Indian officials about minority rights in India.