[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             DR. GIRIJA ROY

  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, I rise this evening to honor a dear friend, 
the late Dr. Girija Roy. I want to honor Dr. Roy as a man who 
exemplified the realization of the American Dream. With his passing, 
the Indian American community is devoid of one of its finest citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, the many accomplishments Dr. Roy achieved over the 
course of his lifetime serve as a testament to his unwavering 
commitment to the service of others.
  Dr. Roy was born in Kothwan, a small village in the Indian state of 
Bihar. In 1971, after earning his degree from Ranchi Veterinary 
College, he immigrated to the United States with a mere $7 in his 
pocket. He found employment with the American Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York.
  After his successful completion of an equivalency examination, Dr. 
Roy was hired by the Rahway Animal Hospital in New Jersey. In 1977, he 
purchased that same hospital. He would later acquire two additional 
veterinary hospitals in New Jersey and established the Central Jersey 
Emergency Clinic, an after-hours emergency room for animals.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Roy's son Pryia fondly conveyed his deep love for 
animals, stating that he believed ``animals were capable of bringing 
joy to a person that humans cannot.'' His professional life was 
dedicated to the care of the countless animals that visited his 
hospital as well as providing comfort to their owners.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to mention that Dr. Roy's commitment to service 
existed throughout his personal life. He was the head of the Bihar 
Jharkhand Association of North America called B-JANA. In 1999, under 
his leadership, B-JANA was able to raise a significant sum for the 
widows of India's Kargill War. Later that year, the Orissa Cycle 
ravaged India, resulting in a great loss of human life and property, 
and, again, B-JANA willingly lent a hand by collecting clothes for the 
survivors of the disaster.
  I mention B-JANA, but that was just the beginning of Dr. Roy's 
involvement in numerous social and political activities both within the 
Asian Indian community as well as mainstream America. He was a regular 
at Indian cultural festivals such as Navratri and Devali that occur 
this time of year. He became very much involved in the political 
empowerment of the Indian community in central New Jersey, the effort 
to register voters, run Indian Americans for political office, and get 
young Indian Americans involved in politics.
  Dr. Roy always felt that Indian Americans like himself, who were 
enormously successful in the United States, should give something back 
to the community, and he was generous both with his time as well as 
financially. I can't emphasize enough how much he influenced me and 
made me understand how important it was to give back. And he, of 
course, always was there when I needed help both politically as well as 
personally.
  Although I am deeply saddened by Dr. Roy's death, I am grateful for 
the opportunity to have known a man of such great character. He was 
equally as passionate about providing assistance for those in need 
halfway around the world in his native India as he was comforting a 
worried pet owner sitting in the waiting room of one of his New Jersey 
animal hospitals.
  Dr. Roy was a true humanitarian whose work has touched the lives of 
countless people, and with his passing we have all suffered a great 
loss.

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