Constituents Make Third Request for Representative to Support Resolution for Human Rights in India

STOCKTON: April 21, 2014 – Representatives of Stockton Gurdwara, the first Sikh settlement in the United States, met with U.S. Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) on Sunday, April 13 during the annual Vaisakhi festival to urge him to co-sponsor House Resolution 417, which makes human rights and religious freedom issues a central focus of dialogue with India.

Stockton Gurdwara Vice-President Racinder Singh Uppal, Vice-President of the Gurdwara, City of Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal, Mayor of Lathrop, Bhim Rao Ambedkar Sikh Foundation (BRASF) Director Dr. Amrik Singh, and American Punjabi Chamber of Commerce (APCOC) CEO Balwinder Singh and Director Mike Boparai were joined in their request for support of the resolution by several other gurdwara committee members who are constituents of Congressman McNerney.

Stockton Gurdwara board and community leaders meet with Congressman McNerney.

Uppal presided over the meeting, introducing the Sikh community’s agenda of passing H. Res. 417 and the need for the congressman’s support. Bhajan Singh, Founding Director of Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI), subsequently reviewed with McNerney a report detailing reasons to support the resolution and press reports demonstrating international support, including from the American Center for Law and Justice. As an outcome of the meeting, Congressman McNerney promised to look into the issue and get back to the gurdwara soon.

After the meeting, Mike Boparai of APCOC remarked: “Not only did we urge the congressman to sign on to this landmark resolution, but we also expressed our disappointment that his staff did not inform Stockton Gurdwara about its introduction. We have hopes that when Congressman McNerney sees something good for the Sikh community, he will bring it to our attention.”

In concluding remarks to Congressman McNerney, gurdwara leadership reports they reminded him that, as the elected leaders of the Stockton Sikh community, they are the ones who most accurately represent the interests and desires of local Sikhs.

An OFMI delegation visited Rep. McNerney’s district office in Stockton on January 13 to present him with 490 signatures from Sikh constituents requesting he co-sponsor H. Res. 417. On January 14, an OFMI advisor met with McNerney’s Foreign Affairs Aide in his Washington, D.C. office. Three California congressional representatives have co-sponsored the resolution: Tony Cárdenas (D-San Fernando), Tom McClintock (R-Roseville), and Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). McClintock and Lee both signed on after visits from OFMI.

“This resolution proposes guidelines for conversation with India that are acceptable to all civilized nations,” said Arvin Valmuci, OFMI’s communications coordinator. “The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent body of the State Department, has placed India on its ‘Watch List’ annually since 2009. In 2005, the State Department denied Narendra Modi, a leading candidate for Prime Minister, a U.S. visa because of his culpability in an anti-Muslim genocide in 2002. These are some of the issues House Resolution 417 addresses in its suggestion to the executive branch that human rights and religious freedom issues are the most important issues to talk about with India.”

House Resolution has solid bi-partisan support with 25 Democrats and 24 Republicans as co-sponsors. It has been endorsed by Christian, Muslim, and Sikh communities throughout the United States. Last month, the American Center for Law and Justice endorsed the resolution in an editorial by its executive director, Jordan Sekulow, who wrote: “Congress should express its support for India as a nation that values tolerance and religious freedom by voting on House Resolution 417.”