[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 161 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INDIA'S JEWISH COMMUNITY OUTRAGED OVER ``NAZI COLLECTION''

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 23, 2007

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, on September 30, Fox News reported an 
outrageous story. India has a small Jewish community and they are 
outraged at the emergence in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) of a new line of 
bedspreads called the ``Nazi Collection.'' The proprietor, one Kapil 
Kumar Todi, claimed that it stands for ``New Arrival Zone for India,'' 
but nobody takes that claim seriously. Mr. Todi pretends not to 
understand the outrage of the Jewish community, saying ``It really does 
not matter to me who feels bad about it.''
  This collection is an outrage, not only against Jews, but against all 
people who believe in decency and tolerance. India should shut it down.
  A restaurant in Mumbai used swastikas on its menus and called itself 
Hitler's Cross. After the Jewish community protested, the restaurant 
was forced to change its name. This shows the tolerance for Nazi ideas 
in India, and yet it considers itself the ally of Israel and the Jewish 
people.
  As you know, Madam Speaker, India has been plagued by Hindu 
fundamentalism and many instances of religious intolerance. Christians, 
Muslims, Sikhs, and others have suffered religious violence that has 
claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. There has been destruction and 
laws have been enacted to prevent a Hindu from converting to another 
religion. A booklet was published telling people how to implicate 
Christians and others in false criminal cases. This is merely the 
latest outrage. But it is one more example of the lack of religious 
freedom in India. That is one reason that there are 17 freedom 
movements inside India.
  This is unacceptable, Madam Speaker. It is one more reason why we 
should cut off our aid to India and our trade with that country and put 
the U.S. Congress on record in support of self-determination and 
freedom for the many nations seeking their freedom from India.

                    [From Fox News, Sept. 30, 2007]

  Indian Jews Outraged Over ``The Nazi Collection'' Line of Bedspreads

       Mumbai, India--Leaders of India's Jewish community 
     expressed outrage Sunday over a new line of bedspreads called 
     ``The Nazi Collection'' from a Mumbai-based home furnishing 
     company that used swastikas in its promotional material.
       The furnishing dealer said the name stands for ``New 
     Arrival Zone for India'' and was not meant to be anti-
     Semitic.
       But Jewish groups said they would file a lawsuit against 
     the company.
       ``This is an enormous insult to Jews and all right-thinking 
     people and must be retracted,'' said Jonathan Solomon, 
     chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation.
       There are about 5,500 Jews living in India, a predominantly 
     Hindu nation of 1.1 billion people.
       The bedspread line is not yet on sale, but brochures were 
     handed out in a mall in a northern Mumbai suburb, the Times 
     of India newspaper reported Sunday.
       Furnishing dealer Kapil Kumar Todi said he chose the name 
     because ``that's what came to my mind,'' according to the 
     paper.
       ``It really does not matter to me who feels bad about it,'' 
     he said.
       Some Indians regard Hitler as just another historical 
     figure and have little knowledge about the Holocaust in which 
     6 million Jews were killed during World War II.
       The swastika symbol, which was appropriated by the Nazis, 
     was originally an ancient symbol used in Hinduism, Buddhism 
     and other religions, and is still displayed all over India in 
     hopes of bringing luck.
       Last year, a restaurant in Mumbai, India's financial and 
     entertainment capital, changed its name from Hitler's Cross 
     after the city's Jewish community protested. The restaurant 
     used swastikas on its signs and menus.

                          ____________________