[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E1329-E1330] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] DECLARE INDIA A TERRORIST COUNTRY ______ HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS of new york in the house of representatives Wednesday, July 26, 2000 Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, a group of 21 of us wrote to President Clinton last month asking him to declare India a terrorist country due to its terror campaign against Christians and other minorities. Since Christmas of 1998, there has been a wave of terrorist attacks against Christians, Christian churches, and Christian institutions throughout India. No one is ever held accountable for these actions. In fact, Bal Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena, recently threatened to engulf the entire country in violence if he is held accountable for his part in the 1992 murders of thousands of people in Bombay. Mr. Thackeray's party, Shiv Sena, is a coalition partner of the ruling BJP and both parties are member organizations of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a Fascist organization with a program of ``Hindu, Hindi, Hindutva, Hindu Rashtra''--in other words, Hindu rule. BJP leaders have been quoted as saying that everyone who lives in India must be Hindu or must be subservient to Hindus. Is this democracy or theocracy? Recently, a group of four missionaries were beaten by Hindu nationalists for their religious work. They were peacefully distributing religious literature and Bibles. Now one of them may lose his arms and legs. A Catholic priest who came under attack from militant Hindus recently was saved when his landlady, a Hindu, poured boiling oil on the Hindu mob that was attacking him. There have been so many incidents. After the recent murder of another priest, the only eyewitness was picked up by a police official who was under suspension. The witness was hanged in his jail cell. The Indian government ruled that he hung himself, but it seems to be a murder by the police. Hindus chanting ``Victory to Hannuman'' burned Graham Stuart Staines, an Australian missionary, and his 8 and 10 year old sons to death as they slept in their jeep. Nuns have been raped, priests have been murdered, churches have been burned and schools have been destroyed. All of these acts, and more, have been done at the hands of militant Hindu nationalists allied with the RSS. No one has been punished for any of these atrocities. Mr. Speaker, Christians are not the only ones. The Indian government massacred 35 Sikhs in Kashmir during President Clinton's visit to India, then tried to blame Kashmiri ``militants.'' Two extensive investigations have confirmed the Indian government's responsibility. These latest victims join over 200,000 Christians, more than a quarter of a million Sikhs, over 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims, and tens of thousands of other minorities who have been killed in the Indian government's genocide. Tens of thousands of Sikhs are held without charge or trial, as political prisoners in ``the world's largest democracy.'' Well, if India is really a democracy, it must allow all the peoples and nations under its rule, including the Christians of Nagaland, the Sikhs of Khalistan, the Muslims of Kashmir, and the others, to enjoy self-determination and freedom. Given its past and present conduct, India must be declared a terrorist country and we should stop giving American taxpayers' money to the Indian government until its religious terrorism and its killing of minorities end and all the peoples and nations of South Asia live in freedom. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert our letter to President Clinton into the Record, and I hope my colleagues will read it. It will be very informative. Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, June 15, 2000. Hon. Bill Clinton, President of the United States, The White House, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. President: We are deeply concerned by the ongoing repression of Christians in India. A wave of violence against Christians and that has been going on since Christmas 1998 has intensified recently. On May 21, a prayer meeting of a Christian women's group was bombed. An investigation by the All India Christian Conference shows that the Sangh Parivar, a branch of the Fascist RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, carried out the bombing, which injured 30, four of them very seriously. [[Page E1330]] Also in May, six Christian missionaries who were distributing Bibles and religious literature were beaten by militant Hindu fundamentalists. One of them may lose his arms and legs due to the savage beating. On April 21 in Agra, a group of Hindu militants affiliated with the Bajrang Dal attacked a Christian group and burned Biblical literature. The Bajrang Dal is a wing of the RSS. In Haryana, three nuns were run down by a motor scooter while they were on their way to Easter services. The RSS recently published a booklet on how to implicate Christians and other minorities in false criminal cases, the Hindustan Times reported. Missionary Graham Staines was burned to death along with his sons, who were 8 years old and 10 years old, while they were asleep in their jeep. The killers chanted ``Victory to Hannuman.'' Hannuman is a Hindu god with the face of a monkey. Hindu nationalists have murdered at least four priests, raped four nuns and kidnapped another, whom they forced to drink her own bodily fluids. More than 200,000 Christians in predominantly Christian Nagaland have been killed by the Indian government. No one is punished for any of these acts. India has also committed similar acts of terrorism against its Sikh and Muslim minorities, among others. It has killed over 250,000 Sikhs. In March, the government massacred 35 Sikhs.in the village of Chatti Singhpora. According to the State Department, between 1991 and 1993, India paid out more than 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. India has killed more than 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims and destroyed the most revered mosque in Kashmir. Tens of thousands of Sikhs, Kashmiris, Christians, and others are being held as political prisoners. Mr. President, America cannot just watch these atrocities happen. We call on you to declare India a terrorist nation. We further urge an end to U.S. aid to India until human rights are enjoyed by all people there. And we ask the United States to support self-determination for all the peoples and nations of the subcontinent. Let the light of freedom shine everywhere in South Asia. Sincerely, Edolphus Towns, M.C., and 20 others. ____________________