[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24762-24764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 140TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF MAHATMA GANDHI

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 603) recognizing the 140th anniversary of 
the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 603

       Whereas October 2, 2009, marks the 140th anniversary of the 
     birth of Mahatma Gandhi;
       Whereas Mahatma Gandhi was a great political leader, devout 
     and spiritual Hindu, and leader of India's nationalist 
     movement;
       Whereas all his life Gandhi courageously supported, and in 
     fact gave his life for, the cause of Hindu Muslim amity;
       Whereas Gandhi helped to make India the largest democracy 
     in the world;
       Whereas his philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience has 
     influenced people around the world for the betterment of 
     mankind;
       Whereas Gandhi developed the term Satyagraha, meaning 
     vindication of truth, not by inflicting suffering on others 
     but through nonviolent and patient self-suffering;
       Whereas his autobiography ``My Experiments with Truth'' 
     reveals the inner voice of one of history's most spiritual 
     leaders;
       Whereas Gandhi counseled humankind to ``Hate the sin, and 
     love the sinner'', urged people everywhere to ``be the change 
     you want to see in the world'', and reminded the world that 
     ``Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote the 
     freedom to err''; and
       Whereas as a result of his timeless legacy, Gandhi's name 
     has come to symbolize freedom and justice around the world: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the 140th anniversary of the birth of 
     Mahatma Gandhi;
       (2) acknowledges and commends Mahatma Gandhi's unique and 
     lasting role in the establishment of the state of India and 
     its democratic institutions, which will be revered for 
     generations to come; and
       (3) congratulates the visionary leadership of Mahatma 
     Gandhi, which enhanced the rapidly deepening friendship 
     between the United States and India, the world's oldest and 
     largest democracy, respectively.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Ros-Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The gentleman from American Samoa is recognized.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from American Samoa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This resolution recognizes the 140th anniversary of the birth of 
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the 20th century's greatest political leaders, a 
devout and spiritual Hindu, and the father of India's nationalist 
movement.
  While much has been said about the great works of Gandhi's life, it 
is important that we never forget that without Gandhi, the fates of 
what is now the world's largest democracy, India, and the oldest 
democracy, the United States, would likely be far different.
  Mahatma Gandhi served as an inspiration for a movement that ended the 
rule of the British Raj and created a free and independent Indian 
state. I might also add, Mr. Speaker, it ended the rule of the British 
Empire. But of equal significance, especially to us in this Chamber 
today, Mahatma Gandhi inspired the American civil rights movement that 
hailed one of America's most remarkable social and political 
transformations.
  By advocating nonviolence, a radical new form of resistance, Mahatma 
Gandhi transformed the methods used around the world to protest 
oppression. Mahatma Gandhi developed the term ``Satyagraha,'' meaning 
vindication of truth not by inflicting suffering on others but through 
nonviolent and patient self-suffering. He counseled humankind to ``hate 
the sin and love the sinner'' and urged people everywhere to ``be the 
change you want to see in the world.'' The late Reverend Martin Luther 
King, Jr., became the agent, an instrument, of that change here in the 
United States.
  In India, at a time when sectarian tensions threatened to disrupt the 
independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi encouraged dialogue between 
Muslim and Hindu community leaders, working to cool passions and put an 
end to religious-based violence.
  Though his life was cut tragically short by an assassin's bullet, his 
legacy is seen in the over 1.5 billion people who inhabit the free and 
independent countries of the Indian subcontinent and by our own embrace 
of the principles of nonviolent political action, unity, and religious 
tolerance within the United States.
  I urge all my colleagues to honor the 140th anniversary of the birth 
of the great Mahatma Gandhi by supporting this resolution.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of House Resolution 603, a measure recognizing the 
140th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. At the outset, let me 
express my deep appreciation to our distinguished chairman, Mr. Howard 
Berman, my good friend from California, for his strong support of this 
bipartisan resolution and to the co-Chairs of the India Caucus for 
their cosponsorship.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced this resolution to honor the extraordinary 
life and the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. The broad outlines in the life 
story of this remarkable human being are, of course, generally well 
known: his struggles as a young lawyer in South Africa for the civil 
liberties and the political rights of Indian immigrants; his return to 
India and his leadership in the long and complex struggle for home rule 
and then independence; and his campaign against violent communalism and 
terror, a struggle that ultimately cost him his life.
  In the course of this journey, Gandhi believed and developed the 
distinctive philosophy of nonviolence. This philosophy has influenced 
so many great figures of world history from Nehru to the Reverend 
Martin Luther King, Jr., to Aung San Suu Kyi.
  Today, Cuban dissidents and political prisoners such as Dr. Oscar 
Elias Biscet turn to Gandhi's tenets of peaceful civil disobedience to 
challenge the Cuban tyranny and demand the freedom of the Cuban people.
  In a world too often worked marked by violence and vast inequity, 
Gandhi said, ``be the change you want to see in the world.''

[[Page 24763]]

  ``Be the change you want to see in the world.'' This reminds us all 
of the need for personal integrity in the struggle for peaceful change 
and the fullest respect for human dignity.
  Mr. Speaker, as we have all come to understand, the life and the 
teachings of this deeply philosophical and spiritual man have touched 
millions of people around the world. Indeed, in world affairs, the 
person who arguably affected change more than anyone else, more 
effectively than anybody else, was Mahatma Gandhi.
  Mr. Speaker, ultimately, what was it about this complex and enigmatic 
man that made him one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century? 
As a recent biographer noted, fundamentally, Gandhi was a man of vision 
and action, who asked many of the most profound questions that face 
humankind as it struggles to live in a community. It was this 
confrontation out of a real humanity which marks his true stature and 
which makes his struggles and glimpses of enduring significance to us 
all. As a man of his time who asked the deepest questions, even though 
he may not have had all of the answers, he became a man for all times 
and all places.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support for this resolution, and with 
that, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I want to commend and thank the gentlelady from Florida, our ranking 
member of our House Foreign Affairs Committee, for authoring this 
resolution and giving remembrance to our Nation about the legacy and 
life of this great human being.
  You know, the unusual thing about my reading about this great person, 
Mahatma Gandhi, was that he was a firm believer not only in the Guida, 
but also in the Bible. He believed in a lot of the principles that were 
taught by Jesus Christ in the Bible itself. And as I recall a statement 
of the Good Book saying, Love your enemies, do good to them who hate 
you, I think gives the great substance of what Gandhi had said, hate 
the sin, but not the sinner. And I think in the same way he tried to 
say to the British Empire, he loves the British people, but he did not 
like what the British Government was doing to his people.
  I think it was at the time when he had just completed his legal 
studies from Oxford University that he was given an assignment to go to 
South Africa to help one of the Indian community people there with some 
of the problems.
  And it was on that train ride that he purchased a first-class ticket 
on this train, and the porter there stopped him saying, You're not 
supposed to sit on that first-class trip; you are supposed to be out in 
the baggage area where all the nonwhite people are supposed to be 
sitting. And he protested and said, I bought a first-class ticket, I 
deserve it, and there should be no reason why I shouldn't sit in the 
first-class cabin on the train. And for that, he was not only beaten, 
but he was left to himself and the train went on.
  It was in that given experience that Mahatma Gandhi said, Something 
is wrong here; and from there he started believing that the British 
colonial rule of his people just did not seem to fit right as far as 
the way that the Indian people were being treated by the British.
  For that, Mr. Speaker, history has well spoken. I don't have the 
exact quote that was given by Albert Einstein that said no mortal in 
the last 100 years has ever been given as an example of this one human 
being that, by the way, the former Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, 
described him as a ``naked fakir,'' in very derogatory terms, I 
suppose, in that respect because Mr. Winston Churchill believed that 
the British Empire should rule for another 1,000 years perhaps.
  But I must say that, yes, there is absolutely no question that the 
life and the legacy of this great man, Mahatma Gandhi, literally 
transformed even the civil rights movement here in our own country. And 
for good, I say, yes, absolutely, influenced people like Rosa Parks, 
and especially the great and the late Martin Luther King, Jr. for what 
he has done to transform American Society, making it better than what 
it was.
  I would like to quote to my colleagues what Albert Einstein said: ``I 
believe Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political 
men in our time.''
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. To close on our side, Mr. Speaker, I would like to 
yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the 
ranking member on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and 
Trade.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlelady from Florida.
  As cochairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian 
Americans, I rise in support of House Resolution 603, recognizing the 
140th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.
  Today, we give special remembrance to one of the most revered people 
of the last century. Preaching nonviolence, Gandhi dedicated his life's 
work to helping others. As a leader in the Indian National Congress, 
Gandhi led campaigns to ease poverty. He led the campaigns to expand 
women's rights. And of course he is remembered for his efforts to build 
religious amity. Above all else, however, Gandhi worked tirelessly to 
free his nation and helped direct India into a new era of democracy.
  His methods to do this included leadership by example. It included 
his organizational ability. It also included peaceful civil 
disobedience as a tool and his power to persuade by force of argument. 
These were the ways in which he motivated those not only in his own 
nation, but around the world to this cause.
  Having traveled to India during the second round of voting during 
India's recent election, the largest democratic display the world has 
ever seen, I would have to say that Gandhi himself would indeed have 
been proud of how far his nation has come. Under his guidance, India 
has become a pluralistic democracy of many religions and ethnic groups, 
I think probably as pluralistic as the United States. We are here today 
to help keep the spirit of Gandhi alive and to remember his remarkable 
achievements.
  Before I close, I would also like to extend my best wishes to the 
millions of people that will celebrate Diwali this Saturday; I 
certainly hope it will be a joyous occasion.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
resolution. I join my colleagues in celebrating the amazing life and 
accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi. Through his fearless leadership in 
promoting civil rights and justice for the people of India, he 
demonstrated the power of non-violent civil disobedience to effect 
change. He has contributed immeasurably to the legacy of peace.
  While I wholeheartedly support this resolution, the best way for this 
body to recognize Gandhi's accomplishments is to stop funding the wars 
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Stability in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be achieved as long as war 
and occupation are the tools with which we purport to build peace. When 
the U.S. kills innocent civilians and destroys families, homes and 
communities, the results often incite fear and rage. After more than 8 
years of war in Afghanistan and more than 6 years of war in Iraq it is 
clear that lasting peace and stability cannot emerge from such 
beginnings.
  Rather, stability is best fomented through the seeds of peace such as 
upholding human rights, promoting social and economic justice, and 
ensuring education, employment and access to basic goods and services. 
Regrettably, the billions of dollars of funding that this body has 
dedicated to the wars have devastated Iraq and Afghanistan. If this 
body wants to see peace and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. 
must stop engaging in policies of aggression.
  I strongly support this bill, the powerful accomplishments of the 
great Mahatma Gandhi, and urge my colleagues to honor his vision.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 603.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the

[[Page 24764]]

rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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