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
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.