'Christianity is part of our national heritage,' says Indian PM

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh attempted to reassure Christians of their place in India when he met the head of the World Council of Churches on Saturday.

"Christianity is part of our national heritage," Dr Singh told WCC General Secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia.

Kobia told reporters after the meeting that he was "extremely pleased" to hear this assertion from the Prime Minister, according to a WCC report.

The Indian Government has come under fire for its handling of a wave of attacks on Christians in Orissa state and other parts of the country, triggered by the killing of a Hindu leader in August.

The government was criticised for failing to prevent Hindu extremists from going on the rampage in the last few months, killing at least 54 Christians and burning down Christian homes, churches and schools. Tens of thousands of Christians were forced to flee from their homes to makeshift camps and forests.

"I conveyed to the prime minister the international Christian community's concern over the situation in Orissa and other areas," Kobia later told the media.

"We want the government to guarantee peace in order to instil confidence so that Christians may return to their villages and live there without fear," Kobia added.

Dr Singh said the government was working to "restore normalcy" and curb attacks on Christians, which make up just over two per cent of India's population. He also assured the WCC leader that steps would be taken to restore the confidence of the Christian community, pointing to their protection under the Indian constitution.

Around 6,000 troops have been deployed to keep the peace in Orissa's Kandhamal district, where around 20 per cent of the half million people who live there are Christian.

Christianity's roots in India go back to the first century, when the apostle Thomas is believed to have arrived in Kerala in the year 52.