Indian government official investigates problems of minority Christians

Hyderabad, India, Aug 14, 2006 / 22:00 pm

India’s minority Christian community got a hearing last week with a concerned parliamentarian, who was seeking to understand the problems of minorities in the state.

Vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, M.P. Pinto, visited Hyderabad Friday and addressed a meeting of Christian leaders of the state, including Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad, reported Indian Catholic News Service. Pinto is the only Christian on the commission.

Pinto told journalists he made the trip “just to understand the problems faced by minorities in general and Christian minorities in particular.” Christians make up 2 percent of India's nearly 1.1 billion people; 81 percent are Hindu.

He said his office has received several complaints from individuals about the issue, and the commission wants to examine the basic cause of the problems. He reportedly said the commission would take immediate action on problems of an individual nature.

Although a minority, Catholics in India are generally strong in their faith.  The Indian Church continues to grow despite anti-conversion laws in some areas, growing pressure from Hindu’s, and some persecution.  Just over two weeks ago the Union for Catholic Asian News reported the beating of two priests in the south of the country.