[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 569 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 569

 Recognizing the tenth anniversary of the tragic communal violence in 
                            Gujarat, India.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2012

 Mr. Ellison submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the tenth anniversary of the tragic communal violence in 
                            Gujarat, India.

Whereas, on February 27, 2002, in the city of Godhra in the western state of 
        Gujarat, India, 58 Hindus were tragically burnt alive in a train coach 
        fire;
Whereas, immediately following the train fire, communal violence erupted in 
        several towns in Gujarat;
Whereas, in the International Religious Freedom Report of 2003, the United 
        States Department of State found that ``In Gujarat the worst religious 
        violence directed against Muslims by Hindus took place in February and 
        March 2002, leaving an estimated 2,000 dead and 100,000 displaced into 
        refugee camps. It was alleged widely that the police and state 
        government did little to stop the violence promptly, and at times even 
        encouraged or assisted Hindus involved in the riots. Despite substantial 
        evidentiary material, the judicial commission responsible for 
        investigating the riots reported inconclusive findings. No Hindus have 
        been charged for the violence.'';
Whereas a 2002 Human Rights Watch report entitled ``We Have No Orders to Save 
        You'' stated that ``Between February 28 and March 2 [2002] the attackers 
        descended with militia-like precision on Ahmedabad by the thousands. 
        Chanting slogans of incitement to kill . . . they were guided by 
        computer printouts listing the addresses of Muslim families and their 
        properties . . . and embarked on a murderous rampage confident that the 
        police was with them. Portions of the Gujarati language press meanwhile 
        printed fabricated stories and statements openly calling on Hindus to 
        avenge the Godhra attacks.'';
Whereas Brown University Professor Ashutosh Varshney, one of the world's experts 
        on riots in India, wrote in a 2004 article that ``Unless later research 
        disconfirms the proposition, the existing press reports give us every 
        reason to conclude that the riots in Gujarat were the first full-blooded 
        pogrom in independent India.'';
Whereas the Indian magazine Tehelka reported that many of the people who 
        participated in the violence said it was possible only because of the 
        connivance of the state police and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi;
Whereas the United States Government denied Minister Modi a visa to the United 
        States in 2005 on the grounds of a religious freedom violation under the 
        International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the first and only time 
        such a denial has been issued;
Whereas February 27, 2012, was the tenth anniversary of the train fire and start 
        of the communal violence in Gujarat, India;
Whereas Human Rights Watch reported on February 24, 2012, that ``Where justice 
        has been delivered in Gujarat, it has been in spite of the state 
        government, not because of it.'';
Whereas minorities in Gujarat continue to experience religious and socio-
        economic discrimination; and
Whereas the Department of State reported in its International Religious Freedom 
        Report of 2003 that ``Christians were also victims in Gujarat, and many 
        churches were destroyed.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the suffering of all those persons who were 
        affected by the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, including 
        those persons who lost their lives in the Godhra train fire;
            (2) shares the opinion of the United States Department of 
        State that the Gujarat government has not adequately pursued 
        justice for the victims of the 2002 violence;
            (3) remains concerned by reports from journalists and human 
        rights groups about the complicity of Gujarat Chief Minister 
        Narendra Modi in the 2002 violence;
            (4) commends the United States Government for denying a 
        visa to Minister Modi in 2005 on the grounds of a religious 
        freedom violation under the International Religious Freedom Act 
        of 1998;
            (5) applauds the Department of State and the United States 
        Commission on International Religious Freedom for their 
        monitoring of religious freedom in India and throughout the 
        world;
            (6) salutes the role of Indian police officers who, despite 
        personal risk, provided honest testimony about the violence in 
        Gujarat;
            (7) supports the role of independent media in India that 
        continue to highlight the Gujarat issue;
            (8) commends the role of the National Human Rights 
        Commission and the Indian Supreme Court, which has led to some 
        convictions in Gujarat riot cases, and also the arrest of a few 
        high-level leaders in the Modi administration;
            (9) recognizes the work of Indian and Indian-American civil 
        society groups for their tireless devotion to educating people 
        about human rights and religious freedom in India; and
            (10) calls on the Gujarat government to heed the 
        recommendations of the State Department to restore religious 
        freedom for all citizens in Gujarat.
                                 <all>