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DATE: March 21,
2005
The Hindu American Foundation
(HAF) expressed grave disappointment over omissions in House
Resolution 160 introduced by Representative Joseph Pitts (R-PA)
and Representative John Conyers (D-MI) on March 16, 2005.
According to the preamble, the purpose of the resolution was
"to condemn all violations of religious freedom in India."
In letters written to both Congressmen, HAF criticized the
resolution for its complete neglect of violations and persecution
against Hindus in not only India, but also other countries
of South Asia.
The resolution represented
a political agenda, according to HAF, as it was submitted
in advance of a planned visit by Narendra Modi, the Chief
Minister of the state of Gujarat, India, to the United States.
The visit was cancelled on March 18, 2005 when the United
States State Department abruptly revoked Mr. Modi's tourist
visa and declined granting him a diplomatic visa. There is
speculation that the resolution, in addition to a coordinated
campaign by members of the Forum of Indian Leftists, Indian
Muslim Council, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations
of North America, Coalition Against Genocide, and others to
vilify not only Modi, but his political party, the Bharatiya
Janata Party, led to the unexpected decision.
HAF expressed concern to
Congressmen Pitts and Conyers about their criticism of India
for alleged violations of religious freedom. As the world's
largest democracy with a constitution influenced by the Hindu
ethos of tolerance and pluralism, combined with a mature judiciary
and human rights monitoring mechanisms, HAF felt that India
hardly deserved to be a target of such a resolution. HAF also
expressed frustration that the Congressmen made India a focus
of a resolution condemning religious persecution in South
Asia while Pakistan and Bangladesh escaped mention.
"The heinous tragedy
that befell Gujarati Muslims in riots after the murder of
58 Hindus burned alive on a train by terrorists must be denounced.
But if the Congressmen were sincere in their censure of violations
of religious freedom, they would not have ignored the situation
in India's Jammu & Kashmir state, where thousands have
been massacred, and where religio-ethnic cleansing by Islamist
extremists supported by Pakistan has resulted in an exodus
of 400,000 Hindus, Sikhs, and Indian Muslims from their ancestral
homes," said Dr. Mihir Meghani, President of the Hindu
American Foundation.
"HAF presented evidence
during a Capitol Hill reception and Congressional visits in
May 2004, of the tens of thousands of Hindus murdered, raped
and driven from their homes in Bangladesh beginning as recently
as 2001, and religious cleansing of millions of people continuing
even today," said Swaminathan Venkataraman, member of
the HAF Executive Council. "Ignoring those figures and
the contemptible human rights record within Pakistan renders
this resolution hopelessly deficient," he added.
Perhaps most outrageous
to many Hindus, according to HAF, is the implication inherent
in a line in the submitted resolution "…that those
arrested in connection with the bombings and retaliatory attacks
on Hindus in India have claimed that they carried out their
actions in revenge for the state-assisted killings of Muslims
in Gujarat…"
HAF denounced the statement
in strong terms. "It is this very rhetoric—that
terrorism and atrocities committed against Hindus is by some
perverse logic justifiable—that has left Hindu victims
ignored," the letter stated.
HAF members pointed out
that the genocide and forced exodus of surviving Hindus from
the Kashmir valley, the deaths of over 50,000 Indian citizens
due to the Pakistan sponsored insurgency in the valley and
the 2001 attack on India's Parliament by Islamist terrorists
predated the tragedy in Gujarat.
In addition, the involvement
of Congressman Pitts, known for his championing the Pakistani
rhetoric about Kashmir, despite that country's support for
terrorism in Kashmir, was a source of consternation for many
Hindu Americans.
"Congressman Pitts
has a history of ignoring the suffering of Hindus everywhere,
especially in South Asia," said Dr. Meghani. "His
personal biases against Hindus and India are disappointingly
transparent in this resolution."
HAF also announced a campaign
to educate the nearly 2 million Hindus in the United States
of the efforts by Congressman Pitts, a small minority of others
in the House of Representatives, Islamist groups, and radical
communist groups to systematically promote a Hinduphobic and
anti-India agenda within the United States.
“This pro-active campaign
furthers HAF's mission of promoting tolerance, pluralism and
understanding,” Dr. Meghani said. “We need to
come to terms with the reality of terrorism in South Asia
and urge justice for all victims of religious and ethnic violence."
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