[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 139 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 139

  Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should 
        address the ongoing problem of untouchability in India.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2007

  Mr. Franks of Arizona (for himself, Ms. Kilpatrick, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
   Scott of Virginia, Mr. Akin, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Sali, Mr. 
 Payne, Mr. Rush, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Chabot, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Lewis of 
Georgia, and Ms. Clarke) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should 
        address the ongoing problem of untouchability in India.

Whereas the United States and the Republic of India have entered an 
        unprecedented partnership;
Whereas, the July 18, 2005, Joint Statement between President George W. Bush and 
        Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that, ``[a]s leaders of nations 
        committed to the values of human freedom, democracy, and rule of law, 
        the new relationship between India and the United States will promote 
        stability, democracy, prosperity, and peace throughout the world [. . . 
        and] it will enhance our ability to work together to provide global 
        leadership in areas of mutual concern and interest'';
Whereas caste is the socioeconomic stratification of people in South Asia based 
        on a combination of work and descent;
Whereas the ``Untouchables'', now known as the Dalits, and the forest tribes of 
        India, called Tribals, who together number approximately 250,000,000 to 
        300,000,000 people, are the primary victims of caste discrimination in 
        India;
Whereas discrimination against the Dalits and Tribals has existed for more than 
        2,000 years and has included educational discrimination, economic 
        disenfranchisement, physical abuse, discrimination in medical care, 
        religious discrimination, and violence targeting Dalit and Tribal women;
Whereas Article 17 of the Constitution of India outlaws untouchability;
Whereas despite numerous laws enacted for the protection and betterment of the 
        Dalits and Tribals, they are still considered outcasts in Indian society 
        and are treated as such;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals are denied equal treatment under the law;
Whereas the National Commission on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has 
        declared that many of the reported cases of atrocities against Dalits 
        and Tribals end in acquittals;
Whereas Dalit women are often raped with impunity;
Whereas despite the fact that many Dalits do not report crimes for fear of 
        reprisals by the dominant castes, official police statistics averaged 
        over the past five years show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, 
        five Dalits' homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalits are 
        kidnapped or abducted every week, three Dalit women are raped every day, 
        11 Dalits are beaten every day, and a crime is committed against a Dalit 
        every 18 minutes;
Whereas the majority of temple prostitutes as well as the majority of women 
        trafficked in India are Dalit women;
Whereas low-caste unborn females are targeted for abortions;
Whereas most Dalits and Tribals are among those poorest of the poor living on 
        less than $1 per day;
Whereas most of India's bonded laborers are Dalits;
Whereas half of India's Dalit children are undernourished, 21 percent are 
        ``severely underweight'', and 12 percent die before their 5th birthday;
Whereas Dalits and other low-caste people are denied equal access to education;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals maintain higher illiteracy rates than non-Dalit 
        populations;
Whereas the public education afforded Dalits and Tribals, when available at all, 
        is usually inadequate and conducted in regional languages or Hindi, 
        thereby disqualifying them from access to India's public universities 
        which teach in English, and from most government positions and most 
        advanced jobs in India, which require English;
Whereas the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India is massive and underreported;
Whereas the United Nations estimates that approximately 50,000,000 Indians will 
        die from HIV/AIDS in the next 40 years; and
Whereas Dalits and Tribals are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and are 
        the largest high-risk population in India: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That it is the sense of Congress that, as the leaders of the United 
States and the Republic of India have expressed commitment to the 
values of human freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, it is in the 
interests of the United States to address the problem of the treatment 
of the Dalits and Tribals in India in order to better meet mutual 
economic and security goals by--
            (1) raising the issues of caste discrimination, violence 
        against women, and untouchability through diplomatic channels 
        both directly with the Government of India and within the 
        context of international bodies;
            (2) inviting Dalit organizations to participate in the 
        planning and implementation of development projects from the 
        United States Agency for International Development and other 
        United States development organizations;
            (3) prioritizing funding for projects that positively 
        impact Dalit and Tribal communities, especially Dalit women;
            (4) ensuring that cooperative research programs targeting 
        rural health care, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and rural technology 
        contain proper focus on the Dalits and Tribals;
            (5) ensuring that anyone receiving funding in India from 
        the United States Government--
                    (A) is aware that it is United States Government 
                policy that caste discrimination is unacceptable, and 
                that the United States is committed to eliminating it; 
                and
                    (B) treat all people equally, with regard to caste 
                discrimination;
            (6) ensuring that--
                    (A) qualified Dalits are in no way discouraged from 
                working with the United States Government or 
                organizations receiving funding in India from the 
                United States Government, and that transparent and fair 
                recruitment, selection, and career development 
                processes are implemented, with clear objective 
                criteria; and
                    (B) procedures exist to detect and remedy any caste 
                discrimination in employment conditions, wages, 
                benefits or job security for anyone working with the 
                United States Government or organizations receiving 
                funding in India from the United States Government;
            (7) encouraging United States citizens working in India to 
        avoid discrimination toward the Dalits in all business 
        interactions; and
            (8) discussing the issue of caste in the context of 
        congressional delegations.
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