[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN HONOR OF THE GRAND REOPENING OF THE NEW JERSEY ARYA SAMAJ MANDIR

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                          HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 23, 1999

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the grand 
reopening of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir in Jersey City. This 
vital organization has served the educational, cultural, religious, and 
social needs of the Hindu community in Hudson and Essex Counties since 
1988.
  Today's youth face so many more dangers and have so many more 
opportunities than the children of a generation ago. It is important 
for our children to have places to learn about their culture, their 
heritage, and develop their own value systems. Pandit Suresh N. Sugrim, 
founder of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, recognizes that in order 
to be prepared for the next century our children need more than just 
wage-earning skills, but they also need to learn the value our cultural 
and religious centers are built upon.
  The New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir provides Hindu immigrants important 
ties to their heritage, while at the same time helping their community. 
As a member of the East Cultural Clergy Association, the Samaj has also 
made great strides in building relationships with many of the other 
religious and cultural communities in the area. For instance, when 
Reverend William Barnett was injured by several gunshot wounds, Pandit 
Suresh N. Sugrim participated in a vigil to show solidarity with the 
surrounding community.
  I will be unable to attend the grand reopening myself, but I am sure 
I speak for the entire Congress when I say that as a nation we owe a 
tremendous debt to the work of cultural and religious centers such as 
the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir. So, I congratulate them on their 
reopening and wish them continued good fortune.

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