[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          COMMENDING INDIA ON ITS CELEBRATION OF REPUBLIC DAY

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with 
Indian Americans across the Nation in recognition of India's Republic 
Day, which was celebrated this last Sunday. Fifty-three years ago 
India's constitution, greatly influenced by America's Founding Fathers, 
was adopted to solidify its parliamentary democracy.
  Today, India is the world's largest democracy, of over 1 billion 
people; and the shared values of American and Indian people have never 
been more apparent. Our countries share a love of freedom; and both 
uphold the ideal of equality of all people, regardless of faith, 
gender, or ethnicity.
  As the co-chair of the House India Caucus, along with the co-
chairman, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), I commend both 
President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 
elected leaders of the world's two largest democracies, for continuing 
to actively cultivate strong ties between the United States and India.

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