E/CN.4/1997/91/Add.1 page 2 INTRODUCTION 1. At the invitation of the Indian Government, the Special Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance visited India from 2 to 14 December 1996 in accordance with his mandate. 2. In the course of his visit, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Delhi (2 and 3, 9 and 10 and 14 December), Bombay (4 and 5 December), Jammu (6 and 7 December), Srinagar (7 to 9 December), Chandigarh (11 and 12 December) and Lucknow and Ayodhya (13 and 14 December) to meet officials at the federal level (from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, governors, etc.) and the State level (in particular the Prime Minister of each Indian State visited). Furthermore, he had talks with members of the National Human Rights Commission, the National Minorities Commission, the Supreme Court, religious and political representatives of minorities, independent personalities and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He also visited many places of worship, including Babri-Masjid and Charar-E-Sharief, as well as schools. 3. The Special Rapporteur sincerely thanks the Indian authorities for having invited him and expresses appreciation of the efforts made and the desire for cooperation that was evident throughout his mission. He is also very grateful to the various high-level officials whom he met during his visit as well as to representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and various United Nations agencies. 4. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur made a careful study of legislation in the field of tolerance and non-discrimination based on religion or belief and its implementation, as well as current policies in respect of religious matters. As a result, he prepared various conclusions and recommendations in the light of factors connected with the application of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief. I. LEGISLATION IN THE FIELD OF TOLERANCE AND NON-DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RELIGION OR BELIEF A. Constitutional provisions 1. General 5. The preamble to the Constitution solemnly proclaims India's commitment to democracy and secularism, guaranteeing to all citizens freedom of religion and belief as well as the right freely to practise religion. 6. Several of the persons with whom the Special Rapporteur spoke explained that Indian secularism should not be interpreted as anti-religious or reflecting opposition between the State and religion, but implied equality of rights for all regardless of their religion, and in particular the exercise of religious freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination based on religion or belief.