[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1346 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1346

 Recognizing that more than 160,000,000 people in India are considered 
            untouchable and dehumanized by the caste system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 15, 2008

Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing that more than 160,000,000 people in India are considered 
            untouchable and dehumanized by the caste system.

Whereas the caste system, which dates back more than 2,000 years, divides the 
        population into higher castes which include priests and warriors and 
        lower castes such as laborers;
Whereas the untouchables' most basic needs are not fulfilled, and untouchables 
        face great difficulties in accessing employment, education, food, and 
        health care;
Whereas most untouchables are among the poorest people in the world, living on 
        less than $1 per day;
Whereas India's untouchables are relegated to undesirable jobs and live in 
        constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and 
        raped with impunity by upper caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their 
        place;
Whereas the police, village councils and government officials often support the 
        caste system, which is based on Hindu religious teachings;
Whereas many crimes go unreported due to fear of reprisal, police intimidation, 
        inability to pay bribes demanded by police, or simply the knowledge that 
        the police will do nothing;
Whereas at the bottom of the untouchable caste are Dalits;
Whereas nearly 90 percent of all poor Indians and 95 percent of all illiterate 
        Indians are Dalits;
Whereas every hour two Dalits are assaulted and every day three women are raped, 
        two Dalits are murdered, and two Dalit homes are torched; and
Whereas the caste system, a powerful tool for social segregation, runs deep in 
        the minds of Indians and has implications in everyday life: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives, acknowledging that 
caste-based discrimination is institutionalized throughout India and 
that its corrosive influence on the Indian people must be effectively 
addressed, recognizes the caste system's debilitating influence on the 
daily lives of millions in India and encourages the United States to 
work with India to find new approaches to this age-old problem.
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