President Obama addressed India’s treatment of minority faiths during his final speech on January 27 after a three-day-long visit to the country.
His comments were widely interpreted as a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose rise to power emboldened activists to declare India a nation of Hindus.
Obama warned India not to stray from its constitutional commitment to allow people to freely “profess, practice and propagate” religion.
Shortly before the US presidential visit, Indian Christians launched a 24-hour helpline to respond to increasing attacks, following the rise to power of Hindu nationalists.