[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 2 (Thursday, January 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E24-E25]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 INDIA'S REPUBLIC DAY, JANUARY 26, 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 24, 2002

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the 
most important dates

[[Page E25]]

on the calendar for the people of India, as well as for the people of 
Indian descent who have settled in the United States and around the 
world. January 26th is Republic Day, an occasion that inspires pride 
and patriotism for the people of India.
  On January 26, 1950, India became a Republic, devoted to the 
principals of democracy and secularism. At that time, Dr. Rajendra 
Prasad was elected as the nation's first president. Since then, despite 
the challenges of sustaining economic development and promoting 
tolerance and cooperation amongst its many ethnic, religious and 
linguistic communities, India has stuck to the path of free and fair 
elections, a multi-party political system and the orderly transfer of 
power from one government to its successor.
  On that special day in 1950, India adopted its Constitution. Mr. 
Speaker, it should be noted that India derived key aspects of her 
Constitution, particularly its statement of Fundamental Rights, from 
our own Bill of Rights. Last year, on the eve of Republic Day, India's 
President K.R. Narayanan stated in his address to the nation: ``Let us 
remember, it is under the flexible and spacious provisions of our 
Constitution, that democracy has flourished during the last fifty years 
and that India has achieved an unprecedented unity and cohesion as a 
nation and made remarkable progress in the social and economic 
fields.''
  India and the United States both proclaimed their independence from 
British colonial rule. The Indian independence movement under the 
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi had strong moral support from American 
intellectuals, political leaders and journalists. Just last week, we 
paid tribute to one of our greatest American leaders, the Rev. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Dr. King derived many of his ideas of non-violent 
resistance to injustice from the teachings and the actions of Mahatma 
Gandhi.
  As the world's two largest democracies, the United States and India 
have a natural relationship, based on their shared values of diversity, 
democracy and prosperity. These two countries have steadily grown 
closer for the past ten years, and most recently, the United States' 
campaign to fight global terrorism has brought the two countries even 
closer.
  Following the tragic events of September 11, India was one of the 
first countries to come forward to the United States with an offer of 
full assistance and cooperation in this new global fight against 
terrorism. Prime Minister Vajpayee expressed his deep sympathy 
regarding the World Trade Center attacks. The attacks in fact took the 
lives of 250 Indians and Indian-Americans.
  Since September 11, there have been a string of terrorist attacks 
against India. On October 1st, a suicide car bomb exploded in front of 
the Jammu and Kashmir State assembly while it was in session, killing 
over 35 people. Cross-border terrorism in Indian-controlled parts of 
Kashmir has perpetuated on a daily basis. On December 13th, the Indian 
Parliament building in New Delhi, a great symbol of democracy, was 
attacked by Pakistani-based terrorists, killing nine police officers, a 
Parliament worker and the five terrorists. The most recent terrorist 
attack this past Tuesday on the American Center in Calcutta killed four 
police officers and wounded 19.
  India has sadly been afflicted with terrorism from Pakistani-based 
terrorist groups that are to be blamed for over 53,000 deaths of 
innocent Indian citizens throughout the last 15 years. These are in 
fact the same terrorist groups that belong to the terrorist networks 
the United States is now fighting against. It is only natural that 
these two countries are now united in the global fight against 
terrorism.
  Although Republic Day is an occasion to celebrate India's grand 
achievements and strong U.S.-India ties, in is also important to note 
that January 26, 2002 marks the one-year anniversary of the earthquake 
that literally rocked Gujurat. This devastating natural disaster killed 
more than 20,000 people, injured more than hundreds of thousands of 
people and in many ways, robbed millions of their homes and their every 
day lives. Congress soon thereafter passed a resolution expressing 
their support for providing assistance and in the FY 2002 Foreign 
Operations bill, $1 million will be allocated to India for natural 
disaster preparedness.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I want to note that throughout the South Asian 
region, India stands alone as a pillar of democracy, stability and 
growth. I join both Indians in India and over 1.6 million Indians 
living here in the United States in celebrating India's Republic Day.

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