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http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - ICCPR

ICCPR Article 18

1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice...........

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/ratification/4.htm

India

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10 Apr 1979 a

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Link to Full New York Times Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/world/asia/13india.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

WOMEN'S CHALLENGES FOR FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF -

      INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

INDIA - ORISSA STATE HINDU-CHRISTIAN CONFLICTS

Deshakalyan Chowdhury/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A Christian in her burned home in the Indian state of Orissa. Villagers blamed Hindu militants.

By SOMINI SENGUPTA

October 12, 2008

Full Article at Link.

.....India, the world’s most populous democracy and officially a secular nation, is today haunted by a stark assault on one of its fundamental freedoms. Here in eastern Orissa State, riven by six weeks of religious clashes, Christian families like the Digals say they are being forced to abandon their faith in exchange for their safety.

The forced conversions come amid widening attacks on Christians here and in at least five other states across the country, as India prepares for national elections next spring.

The clash of faiths has cut a wide swath of panic and destruction through these once quiet hamlets fed by paddy fields and jackfruit trees. Here in Kandhamal, the district that has seen the greatest violence, more than 30 people have been killed, 3,000 homes burned and over 130 churches destroyed, including the tin-roofed Baptist prayer hall where the Digals worshiped. Today it is a heap of rubble on an empty field, where cows blithely graze.....

India is no stranger to religious violence between Christians, who make up about 2 percent of the population, and India’s Hindu-majority of 1.1 billion people. But this most recent spasm is the most intense in years.....

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