Curry Night at Banbury church will be held to raise awareness of the plight of minority religions in India

St Francis Church on Highlands, Ruscote Estate, Banbury

The plight of Christians, Muslims and Sikhs in India is the focus of a Curry Night at St Francis Church, Banbury on Sunday.

The event is being held to raise awareness about what is happening to non-Hindu people in India. The country has a population of 1.4bn and among them are around 204 Muslims, over 67m Christians and around 20m Sikhs.

One of the organisers of the Curry Night is Canon Richard Cook. "The present Government in India - the world's largest democracy - has encouraged the view that 'to be an Indian you must be a HIndu'," he said.

"Because of this, many non-Hindu communities are being persecuted and terrorised. Some Hindu extremists want most non-Hindus 'removed' from India by the end of 2021. This has led to terrible violence for people, and the destruction of homes and businesses.

Canon Richard Cook who is a co-organiser of Sunday's Curry Night

"What can we do in Banbury? We can encourage our own Parliament to take steps to support a United Nations fact-finding commission on human rights violations against religious minorities in India."

Mr Cook has urged people to join diners at the Curry Night which takes place at St Francis Church Centre, Ruscote, on Sunday, August 15 at 6pm. There will be a chicken curry and a vegetable curry, authentically produced by a well-known local cook.

Donations will be gratefully accepted but the evening is not being held primarily as a fundraising event.

For more details contact Mr Cook on 07436 071326 or email [email protected] by Friday morning. Everybody will be welcome.

Mr Cook is a retired Church of England vicar who has lived in Banbury for six years. Before moving to the town he was a vicar in Woking, in Surrey, where he was the Bishop of Guildford's advisor in Interfaith Relations. He enjoys close ties with Banbury's Muslim community.