[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 118 (Monday, July 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H8211-H8213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING UNTOUCHABILITY IN INDIA

  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 139) expressing the sense of 
the Congress that the United States should address the ongoing problem 
of untouchability in India, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 139

       Whereas the Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human 
     Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of 
     Law released a report in February 2007 that describes caste 
     discrimination against India's ``Untouchables'' based on in-
     depth investigations and the findings of Indian governmental 
     and non-governmental organizations on caste-based abuses;
       Whereas the United States and the Republic of India have 
     entered into an unprecedented partnership;
       Whereas the July 18, 2005, Joint Statement between 
     President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 
     stated that, ``[a]s leaders of nations committed to the 
     values of human freedom, democracy, and rule of law, the new 
     relationship between India and the United States will promote 
     stability, democracy, prosperity, and peace throughout the 
     world [. . . and] it will enhance our ability to work 
     together to provide global leadership in areas of mutual 
     concern and interest'';
       Whereas caste is the socioeconomic stratification of people 
     in South Asia based on a combination of work and heredity;
       Whereas the ``Untouchables'', now known as the Dalits, and 
     the people of the forest tribes of India, called Tribals, who 
     together number approximately 200,000,000 people, are the 
     primary victims of caste discrimination in India;
       Whereas discrimination against the Dalits and Tribals has 
     existed for more than 2,000 years and has included 
     educational discrimination, economic disenfranchisement, 
     physical abuse, discrimination in medical care, religious 
     discrimination, and violence targeting Dalit and Tribal 
     women;
       Whereas Article 17 of the Constitution of India outlaws 
     untouchability;
       Whereas despite numerous laws enacted for the protection 
     and betterment of the Dalits and Tribals, they are still 
     considered outcasts in Indian society and are treated as 
     such; moreover, in practice, Dalits and Tribals are 
     frequently denied equal treatment under the law;
       Whereas Dalit women suffer both caste and gender 
     discrimination as a result of the deficient administration of 
     justice and are often raped and attacked with impunity;
       Whereas the National Commission on Scheduled Castes and 
     Scheduled Tribes has

[[Page H8212]]

     declared that many of the reported cases of atrocities 
     against Dalits and Tribals end in acquittals;
       Whereas, despite the fact that many Dalits do not report 
     crimes for fear of reprisals by the dominant castes, national 
     police statistics averaged over the past five years by the 
     National Commission on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 
     show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, five Dalits' 
     homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalits are 
     kidnapped or abducted every week, three Dalit women are raped 
     every day, 11 Dalits are beaten every day and a crime is 
     committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes;
       Whereas many Dalit girls are forced to become temple 
     prostitutes who are then unable to marry and may be auctioned 
     to urban brothels, and many women trafficked in India are 
     Dalit women;
       Whereas low-caste unborn females are targeted for 
     abortions;
       Whereas according to Human Rights Watch and India's 
     official National Family Health Survey, most Dalits and 
     Tribals are among those poorest of the poor living on less 
     than $1 per day; most of India's bonded laborers are Dalits; 
     and half of India's Dalit children are undernourished, 21 
     percent are ``severely underweight'', and 12 percent die 
     before their 5th birthday;
       Whereas Dalits and other low-caste individuals often suffer 
     from discrimination and segregation in government primary 
     schools leading to low enrollment, high drop-out, and low 
     literacy rates, perhaps linked to a perception that Dalits 
     are not meant to be educated, are incapable of being 
     educated, or if educated, would pose a threat to village 
     hierarchies and power relations;
       Whereas the Dalits and Tribals maintain higher illiteracy 
     rates than non-Dalit populations; and
       Whereas the HIV/AIDS epidemic is India is massive and 
     Dalits and Tribals are significantly affected by HIV/AIDS: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),  That it is the sense of Congress that, as the 
     leaders of the United States and the Republic of India have 
     expressed commitment to the values of human freedom, 
     democracy, and the rule of law, it is in the interests of the 
     United States to address the problem of the treatment of the 
     Dalits and Tribals in India in order to better meet mutual 
     social development and human rights goals by--
       (1) raising the issues of caste discrimination, violence 
     against women, and untouchability through diplomatic channels 
     both directly with the Government of India and within the 
     context of international bodies;
       (2) encouraging the United States Agency for International 
     Development to ensure that the needs of Dalit organizations 
     are incorporated in the planning and implementation of 
     development projects;
       (3) ensuring that projects that positively impact Dalit and 
     Tribal communities, especially Dalit women, are developed and 
     implemented;
       (4) ensuring that cooperative research programs targeting 
     rural health care, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and rural 
     technology contain proper focus on the Dalits and Tribals;
       (5) ensuring that anyone receiving funding in India from 
     the United States Government--
       (A) is aware that it is United States Government policy 
     that caste discrimination is unacceptable, and that the 
     United States is committed to eliminating it; and
       (B) treat all people equally without engaging in caste 
     discrimination;
       (6) ensuring that--
       (A) qualified Dalits are in no way discouraged from working 
     with organizations receiving funding in India from the United 
     States Government, and that transparent and fair recruitment, 
     selection, and career development processes are implemented, 
     with clear objective criteria; and
       (B) procedures exist to detect and remedy any caste 
     discrimination in employment conditions, wages, benefits or 
     job security for anyone working with organizations receiving 
     funding in India from the United States Government;
       (7) encouraging United States citizens working in India to 
     avoid discrimination toward the Dalits in all business 
     interactions; and
       (8) discussing the issue of caste during bilateral and 
     multilateral meetings, including congressional delegations.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Sherman) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and I 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would like to commend our distinguished colleague Mr. Trent Franks 
of Arizona for introducing this resolution. Roughly 20 million people 
in India are subject to discrimination, and sometimes worse, simply 
because of their caste. Discrimination inflicted against people known 
as Dalits and Tribals in India is solely based on being born into a 
certain family. This is an unethical practice and is outlawed under the 
Indian Constitution. The whole concept of untouchability itself is 
banned by the Indian Constitution. However, enforcement of this law 
ought to be strengthened, and crimes against Dalits ought to be 
prevented, more vigorously investigated and prosecuted.
  This resolution seeks to state clearly the sense of the United States 
Congress in this regard. We must continue to raise this issue in our 
bilateral meetings with our good friends in the Government of India, 
especially at a time when the United States-Indian relationship has 
entered into an unprecedented and unparalleled partnership.
  Furthermore, we must ensure the antipoverty programs and other 
programs we support in India incorporate the needs of the Dalit 
community. Our government and our companies that do business in India 
ought to make a special effort to help these people, because right now 
they may often have little help in their own communities, although 
there are programs of the Indian Government also focused on meeting 
these needs.
  It is our moral obligation to speak out against abuses of human 
rights, wherever we see them, even in countries that are our allies and 
excellent partners. That is why Congress must address the problem of 
the treatment of Dalits and Tribals in India.
  We need to be consistent. It is easy to criticize our adversaries, 
but we have even more impact when we point out the failings, both past 
and present, and the need for improvement of our friends and allies.
  The world's oldest democracy, the United States, and the world's 
largest democracy, India, should work together to end legacies of 
ethnic discrimination in both of our countries.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, at the outset, I would like to commend both 
Chairman Lantos and the author of this resolution, the distinguished 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks), as well as Mr. Smith for their 
leadership on working to bring this and so many other human rights 
issues to the attention of this body.
  As we all know, India is not only the world's largest English-
speaking democracy, but it's one of the world's richest and most 
diverse civilizations.
  India is also emerging as one of the world's most dynamic economies, 
with the results of that growth uplifting the lives of millions of 
citizens. Yet despite this impressive record of reform and growth, 
India, like all countries, including our own, also faces a number of 
compelling domestic challenges.
  As was recently reported in a front-page story in the Washington 
Post, one of these social traumas relates to the problem of inequality 
and deep-seated caste prejudice. More than 200 million people in India 
are considered untouchable, people tainted by their birth into a caste 
system that deems them impure and almost less than human.
  Despite constitutional protections and other legal and regulatory 
efforts by the Government of India to improve the lives of the Dalits 
and other Tribal peoples, all too many continue to suffer from human 
rights abuses, as well as discrimination.
  In this regard, the State Department reports that while rare in urban 
settings, examples of intolerance occur regularly in rural areas. Many 
Dalits are malnourished, lack access to health care, work in poor 
conditions and continue to face serious social discrimination.
  In addition, Dalit women are all too often the victims of rape and 
exploitation at the hands of cruel human traffickers. Tragically, they 
also suffer disproportionately from the ravages of HIV/AIDS.
  This Congress and the American people are enormously respectful of 
Indian sovereignty, its impressive democratic heritage and its respect 
for the rule of law. As awkward as circumstances may be, for this body 
not to acknowledge these extraordinary issues would be an error.
  In a respectful and well-balanced way, this resolution appropriately 
shines a light on the plight of India's untouchables, and I believe it 
deserves our support.

[[Page H8213]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. I thank the gentleman from Indiana, particularly for 
noting the ongoing efforts of the Indian Government to deal with this 
issue. I believe that this resolution should be regarded as one where 
we will work with the Government of India to deal with what both 
countries acknowledge to be an ongoing problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this resolution and 
would reiterate the spirit with which this resolution is brought cannot 
be more eloquently stated than the gentleman from California just did. 
This is brought in a spirit of cooperation with a friend to assist them 
in confronting a domestic challenge, but it is among friends that we 
speak and will support this legislation today.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H. Con. Res. 139, ``Expressing the sense of the Congress that the 
United States should address the ongoing problem of untouchability in 
India.'' I believe that this is a very important issue that demands 
immediate attention, and I am very pleased to see it come before the 
House today.
  I would first like to commend our distinguished colleague, Mr. Trent 
Franks of Arizona, for introducing this important resolution.
  Many Americans would be shocked to learn that the caste system 
continues to have a substantial hold on Indian society. The caste 
system is the traditional system of social stratification on the Indian 
Subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by a number of 
endogamous, hereditary groups often termed as castes. Within a caste 
there exist exogamous groups known as gotras, the lineage or clan of a 
person. Roughly 20 million people in India are subject to cruel and 
inhuman treatment simply due to their caste. The terrible 
discrimination inflicted against the people known as Dalits and Tribals 
in India occurs solely because a person was born into a certain family. 
13 Dalits are murdered every week; 3 Dalit women are raped every day, 
often with impunity; and a crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 
minutes.
  The Indian Constitution has formally outlawed caste-based 
discrimination, but the caste system still plays a major role in Indian 
society and politics. The leaders of independent India decided that 
India will be a democratic, socialist and secular country. According to 
this policy there is a separation between religion and state. 
Enforcement of the law must be strengthened, and this resolution seeks 
to state clearly the sense of the United States Congress in this 
regard. I look forward to working with the vibrant Indian-American 
community on this continued concern.
  We must continue to raise this issue during our bilateral meetings 
with our good friends in the Government of India, especially during a 
time in which the United States-India relationship has entered into an 
unprecedented partnership.
  It is our moral obligation to speak out about abuses of human rights 
wherever they take place. That is why this Congress must address the 
problem of the treatment of Dalits and Tribals in India.
  I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 139, as 
amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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