[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17774-17775]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  RECOGNIZE THE KASHMIRI PANDITS AS A MINORITY GROUP UNDER INDIAN LAW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, although the world welcomes the apparent 
withdrawal this month of Pakistani forces from India's side of the line 
of control in Kashmir, we are continually reminded of the dangerous 
situation that still exists in that mountainous region.
  Last Wednesday's New York Times reported that 20 Hindus were killed 
in 3 incidents before dawn last Tuesday in what the newspaper suggested 
could be a stepped-up campaign of hit-and-run tactics by Muslim 
insurgents in remote areas of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. I 
am sad to have to report that these kinds of attacks are nothing new, 
Mr. Speaker.
  The worst of these attacks in the village of Lihota left 15 dead. 
Last week's violence was the fourth mass killing in Kashmir in just 3 
weeks.
  Mr. Speaker, this spring, when Islamic militants had been 
infiltrating India's territory with the support of, and active 
collaboration with, Pakistan, the world took notice. The fact that 
India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers stirred up fears of a wider 
war. When it became apparent even to Pakistan's ruler that their gambit 
in Kashmir was both a military and a propaganda disaster, the Pakistani 
Government reverted to its traditional ploy by trying to 
internationalize the conflict by bringing in the United States as a 
mediator, an effort that our administration has wisely resisted.
  However, Mr. Speaker, the prospect of an India-Pakistan war obscures 
the ongoing violence that has destroyed the life of this entire region. 
While people of all faiths have suffered, the Hindu community of 
Kashmir has been particularly severe. The Pandits have suffered as 
individuals, singled out for violence, and as a community, forced to 
leave their ancestral homes and way of life, turned into refugees in 
their own country.
  Mr. Speaker, in light of the ongoing unique suffering of the Kashmiri 
Pandits, I am urging the Indian government to recognize the Kashmir 
Pandit community as a minority under Indian law to provide additional 
benefits and protection. While Hindus are the majority religion in 
India as whole, they are a minority, and indeed, a persecuted minority 
in Jammu and Kashmir.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the chairman of the National 
Minority Commission has proposed that Hindu minorities in various 
Indian states be officially classified as minorities. The chairman's 
recommendation is pending before the government. Although such a 
designation would usually require an amendment to be passed by the 
parliament, the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament, 
there may be occasions where the commission can unilaterally act.
  While the details of such an action are obviously an internal matter 
for India's government, I soon will be circulating a letter to India's 
Prime Minister Vajpayee, which I hope my colleagues in Congress will 
join me in signing, urging that the appropriate steps be taken to 
provide the Pandits with the minority designation.
  Mr. Speaker, the militants, with Pakistan's backing, have transformed 
a peaceful, secular state in India, one which happens to have a 
predominantly Muslim population, into a killing field. The militants 
make no secret

[[Page 17775]]

of their desire to drive the Pandits out of Kashmir and do not think 
twice about killing as many of them as possible. And under such a 
severe, violent threat to their very existence, I believe that the 
designation of minority status is an urgent priority and respectfully 
urge the Indian Government to make this designation.
  While I understand the enormity of the challenge, I urge Prime 
Minister Vajpayee and his government to create an environment in which 
the Pandit community can return to their homeland in the Kashmir Valley 
in the future. I also urge that the government of India raise the 
ongoing genocide of the Kashmiri Pandit community in bilateral talks 
with Pakistan.
  I have the highest regard for Prime Minister Vajpayee, both 
personally and in his capacity as the elected leader of the world's 
largest democracy. I know he also grieves over the victimization of the 
Kashmiri Pandit community, and I hope to work closely with the Indian 
Government with the support of the Kashmiri-American community in 
resolving this humanitarian crisis.

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