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TechnoratiPolitical parties have also condemned the violence unleashed against Christians in Orissa, demanding immediate security measures to control the situation.
Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation at a top-level meeting and again appealed to people to maintain communal harmony.
India is overwhelmingly Hindu but officially secular. Religious minorities, such as Christians, who account for 2.3 percent of the country's 1.1. billion people, and Muslims, who make up 13.4 percent, often coexist peacefully. Some have risen to the highest levels of government and business.
But throughout India's history, both communities have faced repeated attacks from hard-line Hindus, with violence against Christians often directed at foreign missionaries and converts from Hinduism.
Hindu right-wing groups have often accused Christian missionaries of luring poor and uneducated tribal people to convert to Christianity with money and promises of jobs, education and healthcare.
Orissa is the only Indian state that has a law requiring people to obtain police permission before they change their religion. The law was intended to counter missionary work.
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