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Days after India rebutted the remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI alluding to religious intolerance in the country, senior officials confirmed on 30 May 2006 that the government had asked a commission to study the complaints regarding attacks against Christians. “The government has asked the religious minorities commission to look into alleged atrocities against the Christian community in some states ruled by a pro-Hindu party,” a senior official confirmed. National Commission for Minorities Chairman Prof Mohammad Ansari said his office had received "such communication" from the government. But it should be seen as part of the commission's regular duties, he added. A few days earlier the government had expressed its displeasure over Pope Benedict's remarks about religious intolerance and laws restricting religious freedom in India. Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma told the Rajya Sabha the government disapproved of the Pope's comments in "no uncertain terms" and that the Pope was "not properly briefed about the secularism and religious tolerance prevailing in India." New Delhi-based Indian Express, a daily newspaper, said on 25 May 2006 that the Ministry for Minority Religious Affairs had asked the minorities' commission to conduct an "on-the-spot assessment" of complaints concerning attacks on Christians in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The three states are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has vowed to make India a Hindu nation. The party and its affiliated organisations are accused of several attacks against Christians. Fr Babu Joseph, spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, welcomed the "move to assess the situation". Without naming any particular group, he said there had been repeated attacks against Christian individuals, institutions and organisations in various parts of India. During the past few months, he said, several incidents had been reported in which Christians were dragged out of their homes, churches and prayer halls, and beaten up. "Such incidents do happen," Fr Joseph said, adding that the Church was "looking forward to a very reliable and objective report" from the minority commission's study. Prof Ansari said they had "received reports over a period of several weeks about problems of Christians, different problems from different states." He said, "One has to draw a line between a complaint and an atrocity." Each complaint or grievance was "different from the other and requires a different kind of response," he continued. The chairman said his office had a process to manage complaints seeking restitution from state governments and related agencies. "It is an ongoing exercise and it is the responsibility of the commission to look into them," he said. A senior official of the commission said, "There have been quite a few cases in the last few weeks, but we have to compare them with the previous number of cases to arrive at any conclusion." The commission "has not yet taken a view on the matter, but modalities about the team, like who is to go where," would be worked out soon, he added. The commission has been reorganising itself after the terms of all seven members of the outgoing commission ended in early February. Prof Ansari was appointed chairman only on 6 March 2006, one of the three members of the incoming commission appointed until now. No Christian member has yet been named. The Apostolic Nunciature confirmed on 24 May 2006 that the ministry for foreign affairs had summoned a senior official from the Vatican Embassy in New Delhi and conveyed its displeasure over the Pope's comments. Pope Benedict made the comments on 18 May 2006 while welcoming Ambassador Amitava Tripathi, India's new ambassador to the Holy See. In a written speech, the Pope called on the Indian Government to "firmly reject" what he described as "disturbing signs of religious intolerance which have troubled some regions of the nation, including the reprehensible attempt to legislate clearly discriminatory restrictions on the fundamental right of religious freedom."
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