INDIA – 10TH MOST DANGEROUS PLACE TO BE CHRISTIAN

I led for the SNP in a debate on the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in India under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

There are many close ties between India and the UK and I urged the UK Government to do all it could to pressure the Indian Government to improve its record on human rights and the growing attacks on religious minorities as highlighted by Open Doors, a charity dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians around the world.

In April 2021, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that India be designated as a country of “particular concern” and placed on a religious freedom blacklist along with countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Last year, 486 violent cases of Christian persecution were recorded, a trend that is rising alarmingly with concerns about instances of Indian Christians being cut off from local water supplies also being reported.

An attack on freedom of religion or belief is an attack on basic human rights. As free trade negotiations progress between India and the UK, I urged the UK Government to ensure that basic human rights for all Indians forms part of these negotiations.