Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: IND32870 Country: India Date: 11 February 2008

Keywords: India – New – Christians – State protection – Internal relocation

This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein.

Questions

1. What is the situation for Christians in ? Is there any evidence that they have suffered mistreatment? 2. If so, can these instances be distinguished by the profile, i.e., involved in converting people or a priest? 3. If so, is state protection afforded to them in New Delhi? 4. If a person from New Delhi speaks English, Hindi and Konkani, could they relocate to anywhere else in India?

RESPONSE

1. What is the situation for Christians in New Delhi? Is there any evidence that they have suffered mistreatment? 2. If so, can these instances be distinguished by the profile, i.e., involved in converting people or a priest? 3. If so, is state protection afforded to them in New Delhi?

The Indian government census of 2001 showed a Christian population in New Delhi of approximately 130 000. This represents 0.9% of the capital’s total population of close to 14 million (‘Population by religious communities – census of India 2001’, Census of India, Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_ by_religious_communities.htm – Accessed 6 February 2008 – Attachment 1). The Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi website currently indicates that:

the number of religious congregations within the territory of the Archdiocese at present is 19,500,000 of which the Catholic population is 10,5000 … By and large, people of different faith, states, languages and cultures live together in peace, though occasionally there are communal riots and clashes which rarely go out of control (‘History – Archdiocese of Delhi’ 2006, Archdiocese of Delhi website http://www.delhiarchdiocese.com/arch/arch_history.html – Accessed 11 February 2008 – Attachment 2).

Newspaper articles and reports from Christian organisations provided below show that attacks against Christians and Christian property in New Delhi have occurred since 1999. Evidence suggests that such attacks are rare in the capital, and involve damage to property, disruption of Christian gatherings, and infliction of minor physical injuries. The presence of Hindu extremism is said to be minimal in some areas where Christians practice. Some attacks against Christian property were reportedly motivated from a fear of the future conversion of Hindus. Christian groups did complain of the failure of the authorities to protect property in some instances; in other cases, police did act to arrest those who attacked Christian worshippers and intruded on meetings.

The most recent incident found occurred on 5 December 2007 and is reported on by Compass Direct, a Christian news service focusing on situations and events where Christians face harm in practising their faith. In this case, approximately 150 people damaged a under construction in a west Delhi development. The site foreman and labourers were physically threatened. The motive of the attackers was reportedly that they feared the church, once completed, would encourage conversion to Christianity. A Church spokesman stated that it was not the first time that Christians in the area had been threatened or harmed. The report quotes: (a) the head of the Commission for Social Communication of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, as stating that such events have become possible “because both the executive and the judiciary have failed to bring the culprits to book”; and (b) a member of the National Integration Council of the who states that the attacks on the church have occurred “not without public support and political patronage”. The report also indicates that “Hindu extremism in the area is minimal”:

Attack On Christianity Reaches Cosmopolitan Pockets – Fearing conversions, mob damages a church in New Delhi and threatens workers.

NEW DELHI, December 18 (Compass Direct News) – Violence and discrimination against Christians in India is reaching beyond uneducated, rural villages – Hindu extremists are increasingly targeting middle class churches in cosmopolitan centers. A mob of at least 150 unidentified people damaged a Catholic church under construction in the national capital on December 5, threatening to break the bones of the site foreman and laborers. The attackers told the workers plainly that they feared people would convert to Christianity if the church were built.

They manhandled the foreman, damaged a generator and other machines and scattered building materials. “They threatened to come again for a repeat performance if their threats were not heeded,” said Dr. Dominic Emmanuel, spokesperson of the Delhi Archdiocese, in a statement. Emmanuel added that parish priest Alphonse D’Cruz had filed a police complaint and sought police protection.

Though Hindu extremism in the area is minimal, Father Henry D’Souza, head of the Commission for Social Communication of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, said the attack was not the first time the anti-Christian elements have threatened or harmed area Christians.

“It has become possible because both the executive and the judiciary have failed to bring the culprits to book,” D’Souza said. “One can only wish and pray that sanity and probity in public life will prevail.”

‘Christo-phobia’

Calling the attack an “extreme manifestation of Christo-phobia,” a member of the National Integration Council of the Government of India said such attacks have occurred “several times in the past.”

“The goons, not without public support and political patronage, have sworn not to allow the Catholic Church to come up in this west Delhi development which has at least four Christian- dominated cooperative group housing societies,” Dr. told Compass. “More than a decade ago they chased out church architects from a plot bought from the DDA [Delhi Development Authority]. The alternate plot which is now facing attack has taken a long time for the church to buy from the DDA.”

The police commissioner, demanded Dayal, must immediately provide adequate security so that the church can be rebuilt.

Ascribing the attack to “patent intolerance,” Dayal said the objection to “foreign religion” amounts to a matter of local politics. “They just do not want ‘alien’ religious structures in their colony, though they have no qualms about permitting illegal temples,” Dayal said. “The objection is political.”

He went on to say that the middle class people did not have misconceptions about Christianity, “but they do swallow the Sangh (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS) rumors that Christians [forcibly] convert, or even otherwise somehow contaminate the cultural environment.”

“This they want to resist in their sense of India as a Hindu country – the Sangh propaganda, which they have swallowed without questioning its fascist argument,” he added.

The RSS is the parent organization of a battery of Hindu extremist groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Forum or VHP) and Bajrang Dal, VHP’s youth wing, which are collectively referred to as or Sangh. The RSS promotes , a Hindu nationalistic ideology which demands creation of a nation ruled by those whose ancestors were born in India and who belong to religions that originated in the country, namely Hinduism and its offshoots. It allows religious minorities to live, but in subordination to the majority community. The RSS, which has a strong base mainly in northern parts of the country and especially among the lower middle class, claims that missionaries use material bribes or force to convert people.

The , which leads the opposition coalition at the federal level and is in power in several states, is believed to be the political wing of the RSS.

Of late, the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore has become religiously tense. On June 8, a mob of Hindu extremists beat independent pastor Laxmi Narayan Gowda and tried to set him on fire before parading him naked in Hessarghatta, in the suburbs of Bangalore (See Compass Direct News, “Hindu Mob Beats, Strips, Parades Pastor,” June 12).

Cyber-Propaganda

To influence educated, middle-class people, the RSS has several strategies. The Rediff.com news website notes that the RSS has now set up Information Technology shakha (gatherings) “aimed at grooming IT personnel towards the RSS way of thinking,” mainly in Bangalore, India’s IT hub.

The IT shakha, which takes place on the Internet, is a forum to discuss issues such as “terrorism, conversions and current affairs,” according to Rediff.com news.

“The coordinator of the shakha, Suresh Naik, said that this would involve the stimulation of the mind, and the IT professionals will be taught to have a more nationalistic approach,” the news portal noted on November 12.

The IT wing of the RSS has been sending out messages through social networking sites to its members, who are asked to spread the message, for the past six years.

Across the country, Dayal also pointed out, new townships and urban developments do not provide for non-Hindu sacred spaces in urban planning. Sacred spaces include places of worship, community centers for fairs and festivals, graveyards and new educational and other institutions.

“This is evident in both government planning and private sector urbanization, including elite housing complexes,” he said. “Advertisements may mention clubs, hotels, and even hospitals. These days, they also speak of satsang (gathering for a Hindu worship) rooms and temples with their herbal gardens and so on.

“Municipal authorities leave space for cremation grounds for Hindus and Sikhs. But seldom is there a place for other faiths.” (Arora, V. 2007, ‘India: Attack on Christianity Reaches Cosmopolitan Pockets’, Compass Direct, 18 December http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement =5159&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=25 – Accessed 5 February 2008 – Attachment 3).

Just over a month earlier, on October 28 2007, Compass Direct also reported on the disruption of a meeting of the Baptist Church in New Delhi. Approximately thirty Hindu extremists entered the meeting of 250 worshippers, shouted anti-Christian slogans, and manhandled the church’s Reverend. Compass Direct indicated that police did arrive to arrest a number of the attackers, and conclude by indicating that attacks against Christians are not common in the capital:

At least 30 Hindu extremists disrupted a Christian meeting and manhandled the speaker on October 28 in New Delhi. The attack took place on the last day of the two-day meeting for local Christians organized by the Rev. Ravi Samuel of the Baptist Church, in New Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India, the extremists intruded into the meeting when about 250 people were listening to the main speaker, the Rev. Ivan Moses, and shouted anti-Christian slogans. They began pushing and shoving Moses and other believers on the stage. Police arrived and arrested a few of the attackers. Organizers did not press charges, however, against the extremists. Anti-Christian attacks are uncommon in New Delhi (Arora, V. & Carvalho, N. 2007, ‘Hindu Extremists Disrupt Christian Meeting in New Delhi’ Compass Direct website, 6 November, http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5109&lang=en&lengt h=short&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=50 – Accessed 5 February 2008 – Attachment 4).

The US State Department’s 2006 International Religious Freedom Report on India pointed to one incident of mistreatment of Christians in 2005. A group of Hindu extremists attacked a large Pentecostal prayer meeting in Dayal Pur, Delhi, on 14 October 2005, injuring five pastors and damaging church property. Other meetings during 2005 involving Christian evangelists in New Delhi and attracting several thousand people were conducted without incident:

Christians often held large public prayer meetings without violence or protests. For example, on May 13, 2005, a leading Christian evangelist spoke in New Delhi, and the event, attended by more than 3,000 persons, was peaceful, with a moderate police presence and no Hindu activist group protests.

…Another U.S.-based Christian evangelist, Pat Robertson, spoke at a prayer meeting in Delhi on May 13, 2005, attended by dignitaries such as Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay. The event attracted approximately 3,000 persons and, with a moderate police presence, concluded peacefully. There was no agitation during the meeting.

..The All-India Catholic Union (AICU) expressed deep concern over growing anti-Christian violence in several BJP-controlled states following the defeat of the BJP in the national elections in May 2004. The AICU claimed that the perpetrators were members of fundamentalist groups affiliated with the RSS.

…Religious press outlets reported that on October 14, 2005, a group of Hindu extremists attacked a large Pentecostal prayer meeting in Dayal Pur, Delhi, injuring five pastors and damaging church property. A local BJP MLA and his supporters purportedly prevented church members from registering a case against the attackers (US Department of State 2006, International Religious Freedom Report – India, 15 September – Attachment 5).

The only other reports found of attacks by groups against Christians in the capital New Delhi are from 1999 and 1998. These are described as the first such incidents experienced by the capital’s Christian population (United States Department of State 2000, Annual Report on International Religious Freedom: India, 5 September, p.8 – Attachment 6). In November 1999, in west Delhi’s Khyala district, between fifteen and forty people attacked a prayer/Bible study meeting, conducted by an “independent” Christian group and reportedly intended “to spread the gospel”. Twelve worshippers were said to have sustained minor injuries and property was also damaged. The attackers had links to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party and included one local BJP politician. Police issued an arrest warrant for four people and were able to arrest and charge two people. Two reports follow on this incident, the first from Agence France Press, the second from the Associated Press news service:

Agence France Press

NEW DELHI, Nov 14 (AFP) – Unidentified people attacked a Christian prayer meeting and tore up religious scriptures in a first such violence against the community in the Indian capital, the police said Sunday.

Officials said about 40 people, most of them Hindus, attacked the gathering outside an “independent” church in a west Delhi residential district late Saturday, injuring 12 worshippers.

The violence was also the first attack in India against the Christian community since the visit here by Pope John Paul II on November 5.

The attackers, who included women, shouted anti-Christian slogans and hurled rocks at the congregation, disrupting a Bible-reading session outside the complex.

Joint Police Commissioner Amod Kanth said some of the Christians were slightly injured in the attack, but he denied reports that the attackers burned Bibles and a cross in the church. Kanth said some of the attackers were linked to India’s ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party.

Around 150 incidents of violence against Christians have been reported in the past two years, including the gruesome murder of an Australian missionary and his two young sons.

Christians account for just 2.4 percent of this overwhelmingly Hindu nation of nearly one billion people.

Hindu hardline groups which are linked to the BJP party accuse the Church of using foreign funds to support an aggressive programme of conversions of Hindus. The charge is denied by local Christian leaders.

A recent report by the Washington-based Human Rights Watch accused India’s BJP government of failing to curb violence against Christians.

Christian groups say the violence against their community increased after the BJP party came to power at the head of a coalition in March 1998.

The pope during his two-day Indian visit called for conversion aimed at expanding the Catholic Church’s reach in Asia in the next millennium (‘Christian prayer meeting attacked in Indian capital’ 1999, Agence France Press, 14 November – Attachment 7).

Associated Press:

NEW DELHI, India (AP) – A mob attacked Christians holding a prayer meeting and Bible study outside a church in New Delhi, beating up several worshippers, newspapers in the capital reported Sunday.

After the attack Saturday night, police arrested two people and charged them with obstructing a religious gathering, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. He said police were looking for other attackers.

Attacks on Christians have increased in India during the past two years, but Saturday’s incident was the first such mob attack in the national capital, The Sunday Times reported.

The attack was carried out Saturday night by 15 to 40 people, including at least one local politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist party headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee, newspaper reports said. The mob tore and set fire to pamphlets praising Jesus, then attacked and scuffled with worshippers, district police commissioner Amod Kanth was quoted as telling the Times.

“The mob, which may have had some BJP activists, disrupted the Bible reading session and then attacked the gathering,” Kanth said. “All the injuries sustained in the attack are minor.” Police named four people in a warrant, including the alleged ringleader, Shyam Gupta. Witnesses said Gupta is a local politician from the BJP.

The two people arrested were identified by police as Kulwant Rai, who runs a shop in the area, and Vinod Chhabra, a real estate dealer. Their political affiliations were being checked, police said.

The gathering in west Delhi’s Khyala district was part of a three-day event “to spread the gospel,” The Statesman newspaper quoted unidentified organizers as saying. The Times said the Bible reading sessions had been held outside the church for several years.

Hindu groups form the bedrock of the BJP’s support. They staged protests against the pope’s visit last weekend, demanding an end to conversions to and asking the government to ban foreign missionaries (‘Mob Attacks India Christian Service’ 1999, Associated Press, 14 November – Attachment 8).

In February 1999, a Christian priest had expressed to the Delhi Chief Minister and Delhi police his concerns “about the security of Christians” in the area. Police responded by intensifying patrols and held meetings with members of the Christian community. Several months earlier in September 1998 in Baghpat, around fifty kilometres from New Delhi, thirty Catholic Francisan Clarist nuns were beaten and robbed and their convent raided by unidentified assailants (‘Nuns report fresh attack in India, Convent desecrated’ 1998, Agence France-Presse, 26 September – Attachment 9; ‘Delhi police say no census of Christians to “ensure their security”’ 1999, BBC Monitoring South Asia, 4 February – Attachment 10).

4. If a person from New Delhi speaks English, Hindi and Konkani, could they relocate to anywhere else in India?

For the response to this question, the following map of India is provided (‘Map of India’ (undated), National Informatics Centre (NIC) Government of India website, http://india.gov.in/images/maps/st_india.gif – Accessed 8 February 2008 – Attachment 11).

Distribution and numbers of English, Hindi and Konkani speakers:

Hindi is the most prominent of (currently) twenty-two officially recognised languages in India, spoken by approximately 400 million people mainly in northern India in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkland, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh. English is recognised as an “associate” official language to Hindi and used by an estimated 4% of the population or 35 million people (in the mid 1990s). It is predominantly used by educated and professional groups, the media, and in administrative contexts (‘Languages of India’ (undated), Online Computer Library Center website, http://www.oclc.org/languagesets/educational/languages/india.htm – Accessed 7 February 2008 – Attachment 12; ‘Abstract of speakers’ strength of languages and mother tongues – 2001’, Census of India website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement 1.htm – Accessed 7 February 2008 – Attachment 13; ‘Distribution of 22 Scheduled Languages – India/States/Union Territories – 2001 Census’, Census of India website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/parta.htm – Accessed 7 February 2007 – Attachment 14; Hohenthal, A. 2003 ‘English in India’ Language in India website, 5 May, Sections 4.2 – 5.3 http://www.languageinindia.com/may2003/annika.html#chapter5 – Accessed 8 February 2008 – Attachment 15).

The Konkani language is spoken mainly in the western coastal states of India. It is the official language of state. 2001 Census figures indicate that it is the mother tongue for close to 2 500 000 people, mainly in Karnataka (768 039), Maharashtra (658 259), Goa (769 888) and (190 557) and Kerala (61 276) (‘Konkani Language and Literature’ (undated) Goa Konkani Akademi website, http://www.goakonkaniakademi.org/konkaniweb/language- literature.htm – Accessed 6 February 2008 – Attachment 16; ‘Distribution of 22 Scheduled Languages – India/States/Union Territories – 2001 Census’, Census of India website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/parta.htm – Accessed 7 February 2007 – Attachment 14).

Relocation within India:

The May 2007 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom provides an overview of attacks against, and the situation of, Christians across India. It highlights recent attacks by Hindu nationalist groups in the states of Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Maharashtra. The authors of the report believe that, despite an improved situation regarding religious freedom in general from 2004:

…attacks [against Christians] occur, sometimes in great numbers, every month, particularly in states where the BJP heads the state government, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Jharkland. In some instances, the police respond appropriately; in others, however, the police reportedly look the other way or even appear to be complicit in the attacks (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2007, Annual Report – India, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom website, May p.244 http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/2007annualRpt.pdf#page=1 – Accessed 7 February 2008 – Attachment 17).

The US State Department’s September 2007 International Religious Freedom Report for India, referring to reports by Christian and human rights groups within the state of Karnataka, indicates an increase in attacks and harassment following the formation of a coalition government which includes the BJP. It also catalogues abuses of religious freedom and violent attacks against Christians in a number of states across the country. For the period covered by this report, incidents of this nature occurred predominantly in the states of Karnataka, Chhattisgarth, Andra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur, Rajisthan and Orissa. Two incidents specifically involving Catholics were identified in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (United States Department of State 2007, International Religious Freedom Report for India, 14 September, see Section II: Abuses of Religious Freedom & Section III: Societal Abuses and Discrimination – Attachment 18). The states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are also singled out by the Compass Direct organisation, in its January 2008 news brief on recent incidents involving Christians in India. The majority of the seven incidents reported on by them concern issues of conversion or perceived forced conversion (‘India: News Briefs – Recent Incidents of Persecution’ 2008, Compass Direct website, 28 January http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5206&lang=en&lengt h=short&backpage=index&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=50 – Accessed 7 February 2008 – Attachment 19).

One recent research response has focused on the situation of Christians, and Catholics in particular, in Goa where Konkani is the official state language. Reports presented in Research Response IND31233 show that the state has a significant Christian/Catholic population (359 568), and that the Catholic Church has played a significant role in the state’s history. While attacks against both evangelical (in 2005 and 2002) and Catholic Church (March 2006 and 2000) groups are documented, these are few in number compared with other states. Research Response IND31233 also examines the level of protection offered by police to Christians in Goa, concluding that generally this group is afforded protection by the police force (see section one of Research Response IND3122 for attacks against evangelical and Catholic Christians, section two for the presence of Hindu nationalist groups in Goa, and section three for levels of police protection: RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response IND31233, 2 February – Attachment 20).

The state of Kerala also has a significant Christian population, estimated to be approximately six million or 19% of the state population. The situation of Christians in Kerala and the level of mistreatment from Hindu activists is discussed in question five of Research Response IND31446. DFAT advice from 2006 quoted in this research response is “that the Christian community in Kerala is relatively safer than in other states since they constitute a significant segment of the state’s total population (19 per cent) and are economically well placed” (see question five: RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response IND31446, 19 March – Attachment 21; ‘Population by religious communities – census of India 2001’, Census of India, Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_ by_religious_communities.htm – Accessed 6 February 2008 – Attachment 1; ‘Indian Regions’ (undated) Indian Christians United website http://www.indianchristiansunited.org/IndianRegions.htm – Accessed 19 October 2005 – Attachment 22).

In its February 2007 Operational Guidance Note, the UK Home Office examines the possibility of internal relocation for Christians (and other religious groups) in India who face harm from non-state actors,. The Note concludes that “as a general rule, an internal relocation option exists from one Indian state to another”, except for single women, divorcees, widows, and especially illiterate women from rural areas (UK Home Office 2007, Operational Guidance Note: India, 20 February, Section 3.8.18 – Attachment 23).

List of Sources Consulted

Internet Sources: Government Information & Reports Census of India, Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner website http://www.censusindia.gov.in/ Non-Government Organisations Compass Direct website http://www.compassdirect.org/ Topic Specific Links Archdiocese of Delhi website http://www.delhiarchdiocese.com/ Language in India website http://www.languageinindia.com/ Goa Konkani Akademi website http://www.goakonkaniakademi.org/ Search Engines Google search engine http://www.google.com.au/

Databases: FACTIVA (news database) BACIS (DIMA Country Information database) REFINFO (IRBDC (Canada) Country Information database) ISYS (RRT Country Research database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Reports) RRT Library Catalogue

List of Attachments

1. ‘Population by religious communities – census of India 2001’, Census of India, Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Pop ulation_by_religious_communities.htm – Accessed 6 February 2008.

2. ‘History – Archdiocese of Delhi’ 2006, Archdiocese of Delhi website http://www.delhiarchdiocese.com/arch/arch_history.html – Accessed 11 February 2008.

3. Arora, V. 2007, ‘India: Attack on Christianity Reaches Cosmopolitan Pockets’, Compass Direct, 18 December http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&id element=5159&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=25 , – Accessed 5 February 2008.

4. Arora, V. & Carvalho, N. 2007, ‘Hindu Extremists Disrupt Christian Meeting in New Delhi’ Compass Direct website, 6 November, http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5109&lang=en &length=short&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=50 – Accessed 5 February 2008.

5. US Department of State 2006, International Religious Freedom Report – India, 15 September.

6. United States Department of State 2000, Annual Report on International Religious Freedom: India, 5 September.

7. ‘Christian prayer meeting attacked in Indian capital’ 1999, Agence France Press, 14 November.

8. ‘Mob Attacks India Christian Service’ 1999, Associated Press, 14 November.

9. ‘Nuns report fresh attack in India, Convent desecrated’ 1998, Agence France-Presse, 26 September.

10. ‘Delhi police say no census of Christians to “ensure their security”‘1999, BBC Monitoring South Asia, 4 February.

11. ‘Map of India’ (undated), National Informatics Centre (NIC) Government of India website, http://india.gov.in/images/maps/st_india.gif – Accessed 8 February 2008.

12. ‘Languages of India’ (undated), Online Computer Library Center website, http://www.oclc.org/languagesets/educational/languages/india.htm – Accessed 7 February 2008.

13. ‘Abstract of speakers’ strength of languages and mother tongues – 2001’, Census of India website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/St atement1.htm – Accessed 7 February 2008.

14. ‘Distribution of 22 Scheduled Languages – India/States/Union Territories – 2001 Census’, Census of India website, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/pa rta.htm – Accessed 7 February 2007.

15. Hohenthal, A. 2003 ‘English in India’ Language in India website, 5 May, Sections 4.2 – 5.3 http://www.languageinindia.com/may2003/annika.html#chapter5 – Accessed 8 February 2008.

16. ‘Konkani Language and Literature’ (undated) Goa Konkani Akademi website, http://www.goakonkaniakademi.org/konkaniweb/language-literature.htm – Accessed 6 February 2008.

17. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2007, Annual Report – India, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom website, p.244 http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/2007annualRpt.pdf#page= 1 – Accessed 7 February 2008.

18. United States Department of State 2007, International Religious Freedom Report for India, 14 September.

19. ‘India: News Briefs – Recent Incidents of Persecution’ 2008, Compass Direct website, 28 January http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5206&lang=en &length=short&backpage=index&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=50 – Accessed 7 February 2008.

20. RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response IND31233, 2 February.)

21. RRT Country Research 2007, Research Response IND31446, 19 March.

22. ‘Indian Regions’ (undated) Indian Christians United website http://www.indianchristiansunited.org/IndianRegions.htm – Accessed 19 October 2005.

23. UK Home Office 2007, Operational Guidance Note: India, 20 February.