The Archbishop Cheenath eastern Indian state of Orissa has urged President Barack Obama to denounce the persecution of Christians during his November 6-8 visit to India. Some 50,000 Christians were left homeless during an anti-Christian rampage in 2008.

“Christians in India hope that President Obama will address religious intolerance and attacks led by Hindu fundamentalists against Christians in Orissa and other states, as well as against other religious minorities,” said Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. “If fanaticism continues, thousands of faithful Christians will continue to suffer. Every Indian citizen should have the freedom to choose and practice their own faith. The radical Hindu groups should not be free to impose their ideology and cause social unrest.”

On November 7, President Obama visited a Catholic high school in Mumbai, where he celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Only 5% of the students at the school are Catholic; 60% are Hindu, while 35% are Muslim.

“Christians in India expect President Obama to support human rights, pluralism, dialogue, and tolerance,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai. “The visit to a Catholic school also represents a clear recognition, before the whole country, of the valuable work of education at the highest level and the excellent service to the nation carried out by Christian schools.”

“What is your take or opinion about jihad?” a student asked President Obama at a town hall meeting at the school.

“Well, the phrase jihad has a lot of meanings within Islam and is subject to a lot of different interpretations,” the president responded. “I think all of us recognize that this great religion in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence towards innocent people that is never justified. And so, I think, one of the challenges that we face is, how do we isolate those who have these distorted notions of religious war.”