A/HRC/10/8/Add.3 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Following an invitation by the Government of India, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief carried out a country visit to India from 3 to 20 March 2008. During her mission, the Special Rapporteur met with Government officials and political leaders as well as representatives of religious or belief communities, members of civil society and academics. She travelled to Amritsar, Delhi, Jammu, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow. 2. During her country visit, the Special Rapporteur had the opportunity to meet with several Government officials, including the Ministers of External Affairs, of Minority Affairs and of Culture as well as with the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Kerala and Orissa. She also met with the Solicitor General, several Supreme Court Justices and High Court Judges. In Delhi, the Special Rapporteur met with the chairperson and members of the National Commission for Minorities as well as of the National Human Rights Commission. Officials met in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh also included representatives of the states’ human rights or minority commissions. 3. In addition, the Special Rapporteur was able to collect first hand information and documents on the state of freedom of religion or belief in India. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur spoke with representatives of various religious or belief communities, including Baha’is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Humanists, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and Zoroastrians (Parsis). Additional civil society meetings were held with academics, journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and professionals from the visual arts industry. The Special Rapporteur was impressed by the vigour with which many members of civil society organizations and artists, particularly by those affiliated with the film industry, are challenging discrimination based on religion or belief and are proposing concrete means how to overcome religious intolerance. 4. The Special Rapporteur also met with representatives of the United Nations Development Programme; the United Nations Population Fund; the United Nations Development Fund for Women; and the International Labour Organization. The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the logistical support provided by the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator. She also would like to acknowledge the high level of cooperation received from both the Government and from the people of India. 5. Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, the second mandate-holder, undertook a mission to India in 1996. Therefore, the Special Rapporteur perceived her country visit and this report as an opportunity to follow-up on her predecessor’s recommendations1 and to analyze developments over the past twelve years. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur first outlines the relevant international legal standards and then gives an overview of the domestic legal framework on freedom of religion or belief. The third part refers to the religious demography and highlights selected aspects of the status of freedom of religion or belief in India. Finally, the Special Rapporteur presents her conclusions and recommendations. 1 See Mr. Amor’s report (E/CN.4/1997/91/Add.1) and the reply by the Government of India (A/53/279, annex).