[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7420-H7421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CELEBRATION OF 50 YEARS OF INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 1997, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this morning I want to join with the people 
of India and the Indian American community as we conclude a year of 
celebrations in honor of the 50th year of Indian independence.
  The 51st anniversary of India's independence will actually occur on 
August 14th of this year, when Congress is in recess. So I wanted to 
take this opportunity today to mark this important occasion before my 
colleagues and the American people in this House.
  On August 14 of 1947, after years of determined and dignified 
struggle, the people of India finally gained their independence. That 
midnight hour, a vote by India's first Prime Minister, Nehru, in a 
stirring speech to the Parliament, marked the beginning of an inspiring 
effort by the people of India to establish a Republic devoted to the 
principles of democracy and secularism.
  In the 5 decades since then, despite the challenges of sustaining 
economic development while reconciling her many ethnic and religious 
and linguistic communities, India has stuck to the path of free and 
fair elections, a multiparty political system, and the orderly transfer 
of power from one government to a successor.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, India once again demonstrated its 
continued commitment to democratic values through its parliamentary 
elections in which more than 300 million people voted. The 1998 
elections were but the latest example of the vibrancy of the electoral 
process in the world's largest democracy.

                              {time}  1130

  Mr. Speaker, while the programs and policies have changed over the 
years, successive Indian governments representing various parties and 
coalitions, have continued to build on the dream of India's first Prime 
Minister Nehru to move forward on the path of representative democracy 
and economic development.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a rich tradition of shared values between the 
United States and India. The United States and India both proclaimed 
their independence from the British colonial order. India derived key 
aspects of her Constitution, particularly the statement of fundamental 
rights, from our own Bill of Rights. The Indian independence movement 
has strong moral support from American intellectuals, political leaders 
and journalists. One of our greatest American heroes, Dr. Martin Luther 
King, in his struggle to make the promise of American democracy a 
reality for all of our citizens, Dr. King derived many of his ideas of 
nonviolent resistance to injustice from the teachings of the father of 
India's independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi.
  In our time, Mr. Speaker, we are seeing another exciting way in which 
our two societies are moving closer together, namely through the influx 
of immigrants from India who have made their homes in America. The 
Indian American community, now numbering more than 1 million, have 
become an important part of the ethnic mosaic in my home State of New 
Jersey and in communities throughout the United States. As they strive 
for a part of the American dream, Indian Americans continue to enrich 
our civic, political, business, professional and cultural life through 
their commitment to hard work, family values and communities. The 
Indian American community also serves as a human bridge between the 
world's two largest democracies.
  Another way in which India and America continue to grow closer is 
through economic ties. The historic market reforms begun in India at 
the beginning of this decade continue to move forward, offering 
unparalleled opportunities for trade, investment and joint 
partnerships, all of which include a human dimension of friendship and 
cooperation, in addition to the economic benefits for both societies.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that this House will soon after the recess 
pass legislation I have sponsored with my colleague, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. McCollum), which would allow the Government of India to 
construct a statue of Gandhi here in Washington, D.C. The legislation, 
which has been reported out of committee and is ready for floor action, 
stipulates that American taxpayers would not have to bear any costs for 
constructing or maintaining the memorial, but merely provides the land 
for the Government of India to construct the monument. The location of 
the monument would be adjacent to the Indian Embassy on Washington's 
``Embassy Row'' on Massachusetts Avenue. The National Capital Memorial 
Commission has already given its approval to this proposal.
  Washington, as we know, is a city of great monuments and memorials 
that help define who we as Americans are and what we as a Nation stand 
for, and I believe that the proposed Gandhi memorial would be a worthy 
addition to the landscape of our Nation's Capital.
  Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, we Americans celebrated the Fourth 
of July. For nearly 1 billion people in India, one sixth of the human 
race, the 14th of August holds the same significance, and I am proud to 
extend my congratulations to the people of India as they embark on 
their second half-century of independence and democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, as we enter the August recess after today, the United 
States and India are preparing to meet and discuss peace and security 
in south Asia. We all know that our relations were somewhat dampened 
after the explosion of the nuclear bombs, the tests that occurred back 
in May of this year. Last week the Congressional Caucus on India and 
Indian Americans met with Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, 
Rick Inderfurth. And Mr. Inderfurth has accompanied Deputy Secretary of 
State Strobe Talbot for talks in New Delhi. Mr. Inderfurth said that 
the meetings in India were positive and he believed that progress was 
being made in terms of improving relations. He categorized the 
bilateral meetings as successful ``quiet diplomacy.'' He told the India 
Caucus that the United States was not demanding, but helping India take 
the proper steps towards international consensus on nuclear 
nonproliferation.
  Later this month in Washington, Mr. Talbot will again meet with 
India's Prime Minister's representative, Mr. Jaswant Singh, to 
reconcile U.S. differences on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. I am 
confident that progress will be made at this meeting.
  I am confident because earlier this week, India's Prime Minister 
Vajpayee told the Indian Parliament that India was close to signing the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The Prime Minister felt that India was 
ready to sign, because India's national security is no longer 
compromised and it is not necessary to conduct further nuclear tests.

[[Page H7421]]

 Furthermore, he said that he wanted to improve bilateral relations 
with Pakistan and that he wanted to conduct ranging talks with Pakistan 
that incorporated long-term vision.
  Although a recent meeting between India and Pakistan's prime 
ministers did not lead to concrete and positive results, they may meet 
again in South Africa later this month, and I am hoping that they will 
meet and resolve some issues that have kept them apart and begin talks 
for peace in south Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to learn that the U.N. Conference on 
Disarmament is close to beginning new talks on halting the production 
of nuclear bomb fissile material. India, a member of the conference, 
has agreed to take an active role in the talks; and ironically, India 
and Pakistan's nuclear tests have revived the talks after they stalled 
for 3 years.
  When we return from the August recess, I look forward to working with 
Members of this body in giving the President proper sanction waiver 
authority so that he may have more flexibility in imposing sanctions. 
Senator Brownback has amended the Senate agricultural appropriations 
bill so that the President would have a limited waiver authority. And 
this amendment is similar to the proposal put forward by the Senate 
Task Force on Sanctions.
  Although the House agricultural appropriations bill does not include 
a similar amendment, I hope that my colleagues will include the 
amendment in the conference report. I have introduced similar language 
to the Brownback amendment and the Senate task force proposal, and I 
urge my colleagues in the House to support the Brownback amendment and 
give the President proper waiver authority.
  When India conducted nuclear tests earlier this year, for a period of 
time there was no dialogue between our two countries, but now we are 
talking and determined to maintain peace in south Asia. To encourage 
such dialogue, President Clinton should continue with his plans to 
visit India, probably this November. It has been almost 20 years since 
a U.S. President has been to south Asia, and if the President is 
serious about peace and nuclear nonproliferation, he should go to 
India.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a large Indian American constituency in my 
district in New Jersey, and this community feels very strongly that 
U.S.-India relations need to prosper, regardless of the two countries' 
views towards nuclear tests. One leader in the community, Dr. Sunil 
Jaitly, recently noted that the gap between India and the United States 
is not large and that the differences can be resolved. Dr. Jaitly said, 
and I agree, that ``the U.S. and India need to express to each other 
clearly and open-heartedly'' so that ``we may eliminate any and all 
misunderstandings created by the May 1998 events.''
  Mr. Speaker, finally, I want to say that it is important that we 
support the administration and India in their efforts to reconcile 
their differences in an effort to bring peace not only to south Asia, 
but throughout the world.

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