[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         HONORING PRIME MINISTER ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE OF INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2000

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, today I honor Prime Minister Atal Bihari 
Vajpayee of India. As you know, the Prime Minister will be addressing a 
joint session of Congress to provide us with his personal perspective 
on the role India plays and will play in our new world order and 
economy.
  U.S. foreign policy is increasingly focusing on the importance of 
India, and appropriately so. India is slated to out-populate China by 
2035. It is an important strategic democracy in a volatile and 
strategically important geographic region--a region for which there are 
hopes of permanent peace.
  Since India's inception 53 years ago as an independent country, it 
has maintained a constitution based on the same democratic principles 
that our Founding Fathers valued. The Indian Constitution safeguards 
all its people from all forms of discrimination on grounds of race, 
religion, creed or sex. It guarantees freedom of speech, expression and 
belief, assembly and association, migration, and acquisition of 
property. It maintains a government where five national parties and 14 
prominent state parties can co-exist in a coalition government.
  Furthermore, India reaffirmed its commitment to human rights when it 
signed the Warsaw Declaration in June of this year. This declaration 
emphasized the interdependence between peace, development, human rights 
and democracy. Signatories agreed on the right of every person to have 
equal protection under the law; freedom of opinion and expression; 
freedom of thought; equal access to education; freedom of peaceful 
assembly; access to a competent, independent and impartial judiciary 
and that all human rights--whether civil, cultural, economic political 
or social be promoted and protected.
  Moreover, India is also making its mark as an economic entity. For 
the past 10 years, the U.S. information technology (IT) industry has 
made increasing investments in India. They have recognized that India 
is capable of providing an educated, ambitious workforce that can meet 
the needs of the world's technology-driven economy. This has allowed 
India to help cultivate the growth of its IT sector. India has 
successfully educated its workforce with IT skills and established 
successful partnerships with industry leaders. India is second only to 
the United States in the number of Microsoft-certified professionals.
  India recognizes the important link between political freedom and 
economic development. As India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru 
said ``We talk of freedom, but today political freedom does not take us 
very far unless there is economic freedom. Indeed, there is no such 
thing as freedom for a man who is starving or for a country that is 
poor.'' This symbiotic relationship between economic success and 
personal freedom is the foundation for a just, stable world order.
  The prioritization of economic success and personal freedom is also 
reflected in our Indian-American population. There are over 1.5 million 
Indian-Americans, and their contributions to engineering and 
technology, art and literature, and education and culture are prominent 
across the nation. They work in our hospitals as doctors, they start 
local businesses as entrepreneurs, and they serve in our government as 
public servants. They fill our temples, teach our children and 
participate in our civic processes, and so embody and exemplify the 
ideals of the American Dream.
  As a member of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-
Americans, I recognize that it is time for the United States to further 
its relationship with India. Our economic and political relationships 
with India and Prime Minister Vajpayee have accelerated greatly in 
recent years. President Clinton urged us further along this path with 
his visit this past March to India. The President met with government 
officials, traveled in India with Indian-Americans as his foot 
soldiers, addressed their parliament, and met with India's citizens. 
Through these exchanges, the United States strengthens and prioritizes 
its relationship with India. I am especially proud of the fact that in 
my district, some of the finest citizens of Indian heritage have been 
contributors to our economic and social fabric. We complement our 
relationship with India by recognizing the importance of our Indian-
American community. We validate it through continued dialogue and 
discourse.

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