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Religious Freedom Summary* (1997) The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right in practice. India is a secular state in which all faiths generally enjoy freedom of worship. Government policy does not favor any religious group. There is no national law to bar proselytizing by Indian Christians. Foreign missionaries can generally renew their visas but since the mid-1960's the Government has refused to admit new resident foreign missionaries. Those who arrive now do so as tourists and stay for short periods. As of January 1993, there were 1,923 registered foreign Christian missionaries. As in the past, state officials refused to issue permits for foreign Christian missionaries to enter some northeastern states. Tension between Hindus and Muslims continues to pose a challenge to the secular foundation of the State (see Section 5). The U.N. Special Rapporteur for all forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief published a report in February on his visit of December 2-14, 1996 at the invitation of the Government. Having studied the situation of the majority Hindus and minority Muslims, Christians, and Sikh's, the Rapporteur concluded that the country's constitutional and legislative guarantees of religious freedom contributed to religious tolerance in India as did "a conception of secularism implying not the rejection of religion but equality for all religions." He warned, however, that tolerance was susceptible to attack by religious extremists (see Section 5). *Source: County Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997, U.S. Department of State |