House Resolution 417 — Making Religious Freedom & Human Rights Central To U.S. Talks With India - Organizations for Minorities of India
Contents:
House Resolution 417, entitled “Praising India’s rich religious diversity and commitment to tolerance and equality, and reaffirming the need to protect the rights and freedoms of religious minorities,” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 18, 2013 by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). H. Res. 417 has solid bi-partisan support, with 25 Democrats and 24 Republicans as co-sponsors (as of May 15, 2014). Click here to read the full text of the resolution.
Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento:
“We endorse House Resolution 417 as a way for U.S. citizens of faith, through their Congress, to speak on behalf of religious freedom and human rights in India” (PDF)
American Center for Law and Justice:
“Religious Freedom Priority: Congress Reminds India of the Importance of its Religious Plurality“
WORLD Magazine:
“Christians, Sikhs lobby U.S. Congress to defend India’s persecuted“
SikhChic.com:
“US Congress Pushes Law to Ensure Minorities Protection in India:
Right Wing Hindu Lobby Campaigns Against the Move“
In brief, House Resolution 417 recommends the U.S. focus on religious freedom and human rights issues when meeting with India for its annual Strategic Dialogue. Specifically, H. Res. 417 would:
– Make calls for religious freedom and related human rights central to dialogue with India;
– Recognize the suffering of all Indians who are victims of religious violence and recognize appeals from Christian, Muslim, and Sikh communities reporting an increase in religiously-motivated violence;
– Urge India to increase training on human rights and religious freedom standards and practices for police and the judiciary, particularly in states with a history or likelihood of communal violence;
– Urge repeal of anti-conversion laws which violate the rights of non-Hindus, empowerment of the National Commission on Minorities with enforcement powers, and increased training in human rights and religious freedom for police and the judiciary;
– Urge all political parties and religious organizations to publicly oppose the exploitation of religious differences and denounce harassment and violence against religious minorities.
This resolution is a response to reports by the U.S. State Department, such as that made in 2011 by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which found:
“The failure to provide justice to religious minorities is not a new development. In 1984, thousands were killed in anti-Sikh riots that erupted in Delhi… Numerous NGOs, including the Indian American Muslim Council and the All India Christian Council and religious communities believe that the masterminds of violence are often vindicated and set free, or if convicted, released with minor monetary fines, and that police are influenced by religious bias and state politics. The failure to provide swift and adequate justice to religious minorities perpetuates a climate of impunity, which allows the harassment of and violence against religious minorities to continue unabated.”
As documented in the resolution, minorities who have been victims of genocide in India and who have not received justice include those in the 1992 Babri Mosque riots, the 2002 Gujarat riots, and the 2008 Odisha riots. The earliest targets of these genocides were Sikhs, who saw first-hand how India has responded with impunity after thousands were massacred in the streets of Delhi in the 1984 Sikh Genocide.
TAKE ACTION NOW TO SAVE THE LIVES OF MINORITIES IN INDIA!
House Resolution 417 is currently in the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees. Both these committees must give the resolution a hearing and vote to pass it in order for it to move to the House floor for a vote. This is why the success of H. Res. 417 urgently requires you contact the chairmen of both committtees to ask them to immediately give the resolution a hearing.
When you call these two people, say, “I am asking you to bring House Resolution 417 to a vote in your committee.”
Foreign Affairs Committee Chair
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-4111
Judiciary Committee Chair
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Phone: (202) 225-5431
H. Res. 417 also needs co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
Has YOUR congressional representative co-sponsored H. Res 417 yet?
Call today to ask.
CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AT WWW.HOUSE.GOV.
TALKING POINTS:
1. Say: “I am a constituent.”
2. Ask: “Has my representative co-sponsored House Resolution 417?”
3. If the answer is “no,” say: “I want my representative to represent me by co-sponsoring HR 417.”
4. Mention that the resolution praises the diversity of India and its democratic traditions but also addresses the rapid rise in violence against Indian minorities.
5. Mention you are speaking on behalf of other friends and family who vote and are constituents.
6. If you want to do more, say: “I would like to schedule a meeting with my representative or a member of their staff to talk with them about House Resolution 417.”
7. Print the House Resolution 417 Info Packet and go visit your representative’s office in person! If you have a meeting scheduled, great! If not, drop in and drop off the packet anyways!
SIGN THE PETITION & SEND A LETTER TO CONGRESS
Please send a letter to your representative asking them to co-sponsor House Resolution 417. It takes just 2 to 5 minutes and requires nothing from you except your name, zip code, and address (all the information is private except your name, and you can choose not to display your name, either).
NEWS ABOUT OFMI ADVOCACY FOR H. RES. 417
SACRAMENTO: May 15, 2014 – Sacramento Interfaith Council Says Indian Anti-Conversion Laws Are “Denial of Religious Freedom” — Group Endorses U.S. House Resolution 417 to Focus Talks With India on Human Rights Issues
STOCKTON: April 21, 2014 – Leaders of First Sikh-American Gurdwara Ask Congressman McNerney to Back H. Res. 417 — Constituents Make Third Request for Representative to Support Resolution for Human Rights in India
ROSEVILLE: April 7, 2014 – California Congressman Tom McClintock Urges Protection of Religious Minorities in India — Sikhs Sought “Religious Tolerance and Liberty” in U.S., says Rep. on Co-Sponsoring H. Res. 417
CHICAGO: April 1, 2014 – Congresswoman Duckworth Ducks Constituent Appeal to Endorse Human Rights in India — Iraq occupation vet calls speaking in favor of religious freedom “dictating to a sovereign nation”
LOS ANGELES: March 18, 2014 – Los Angeles Sikhs Ask Congressman Brad Sherman to Support Religious Freedom in India — Sherman, a Foreign Affairs Committee member, Urged to Co-Sponsor House Resolution 417
SACRAMENTO: March 12, 2014 – Crucial H. Res. 417 Advocacy Website Hacked For Promoting Religious Freedom in India — Bangladeshi Hacker Group Attempts to Intimidate Indian Minority Organization Into Silence
SACRAMENTO: Jan. 18, 2014 – Christians and Sikhs Unite in Call for U.S. Congress to Support Religious Freedom in India — HR 417 encourages “commitment to moral standards acceptable to any civilized people”
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Dec. 9, 2013 – Proposed US Congress Resolution Makes Minority Rights Central Concern of Indo-US Relations — H.R. 417 demands protection of Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Moolnivasi people in India