110 HCON 434 IH: Condemning the recent religious violence in
U.S. House of Representatives
2008-09-26
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
Whereas India is the largest democracy in the world, with
a Constitution that provides for the protection of religious freedom and the
fundamental rights of all citizens;
Whereas the United States respects and admires the
commitment of India’s present government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
preserve pluralism and religious diversity in India;
Whereas the murder of Swami Laxmananand Saraswati was a
hideous act of violence;
Whereas an act of violence should never lead to violent
retribution or mob governance;
Whereas recent violence in the state of Orissa has
resulted in the deaths of significant number of Christians and Hindus, the
burning of churches, Christian institutions and homes, and has forced tens of
thousands of Christians to flee their homes;
Whereas the violence in the state of Orissa continues to
flare and is spreading to other states such as Karnataka and Madhya
Pradesh;
Whereas this is the second major outbreak of religious
violence against Christians since December of 2007;
Whereas the efforts of the state governments have had
little effect in preventing the continuing violence;
Whereas certain leaders belonging to the ruling parties in
the states are publicly encouraging such violence against Christians to create
animosity between the Hindus and others;
Whereas the Supreme Court of India has ordered the state
government of Orissa to detail its efforts to stop the violence;
Whereas India's National Human Rights Commission, an
official body, is sending a team to investigate the origins of the violence in
Orissa;
Whereas the National Commission for Women has expressed
shock at the level of violent crimes committed towards the Christian women by
police forces;
Whereas the Government of India has not moved quickly to
prevent further violence or address the root causes of the violence;
Whereas maintaining the rule of law, rather than mob rule,
is of vital importance to building a strong democratic government; and
Whereas it is in the interest of the Government of India
to prevent tension between different religious groups, promote religious
liberty and freedom of peaceful religious expression in India: Now, therefore,
be it
That Congress—
(1)strongly condemns the religious violence in
India, including the killings, rapes, and home and church destruction;
(2)calls on the
Government of India to take all necessary steps to restrict the reach and
resources of the radical religious party elements that cause such violence
regularly, including the direct incitement to violence against
Christians;
(3)calls on the
Government of India to take strong steps to prevent ongoing and future
violence, including the provision of adequate police protection for targets of
violence, and active prosecution of perpetrators of violence;
(4)calls on the state
governments of India and elected bodies in all levels of government to protect
all their citizens regardless of their religious beliefs;
(5)condemns the
implementation of any laws restricting the freedom of religion or the freedom
to change one’s religion, the fundamental rights in any democracy; and
(6)urges the people
of India to respect all peaceful religious beliefs and live together as a model
to the rest of the world.