Author: Lalit K Jha
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: July 14, 2005
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5967_1430196,001600060016.htm
Two senior US Congressmen, Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen and Gary Ackerman, who are also the co-chairs of the Congressional
Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, have expressed concern over alleged
human rights violation of the minority Hindus in neighbouring Pakistan
and Bangladesh and the State of Jammu and Kashmir as well.
Stating that there is a need to
raise voice on this issue, the two Congressmen have Wednesday endorsed
the report on the status of Hindu human rights in Bangladesh and Pakistan
and Jammu and Kashmir, which gives details of alleged atrocities against
the minority Hindus.
"The human rights violations that
are occurring against Hindus must no longer be ignored without reprobation,"
Lehtinen observed, after reviewing the report prepared and released by
the Tampa (Florida)-based Hindu American Foundation on July 13.
Titled "Hindus in Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Kashmir: A survey of Human Rights 2004", the 71-page report is a compilation
of media coverage and first-hand accounts of alleged human rights violations
perpetrated against Hindus because of their religious identity in these
areas.
Making observations after reading
the report, Lehtinen said: "Hindus have a history of being peaceful, pluralistic
and understanding of other faiths and peoples, yet minority Hindus have
endured decades of pain and suffering without the attention of the world."
In his quick reaction, Ackerman
stressed the fundamental nature of religious freedom and supported the
concept of the annual report produced by Foundation, which is mainly run
by the second generation Hindus.
"The Foundation has done some important
work in this regard by compiling their 2004 Survey of Human Rights by helping
to defend the rights of Hindus around the world to practice their religion
without intimidation and by shining a light on those who would take away
their religious freedoms," Ackerman said.
Applauding the efforts of the Hindu
American Foundation for bringing awareness to this issue, Lehtinen said:
"I look forward to working with it to help address this scar on the international
human rights community."
Ackerman, on the other hand discussed
the obligation of the U.S. Congress to speak out against international
human rights abuses. "By working alongside organizations such as
the Hindu American Foundation, we can help to ensure violations to religious
freedom are documented, and challenged across the world," he said.
The Hindu American Foundation president,
Mihir Meghani, said the report would now be an annual affair.
He observed that human rights violations
against Hindus are repeatedly being ignored by the rights organizations
such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and also government
commissions like the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom that routinely fail to specifically highlight the plight of Hindus
in the regions where they comprise a minority.
The report urged the international
community to "compel' the governments of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India
to respect the human rights of Hindus as an urgent priority.
The report refers to the alleged
anti-Hindu atrocities that have accelerated after the ruling Bangladeshi
National Party-Jamat-e-Islami coalition government came to power.
Meghani said the Foundation leaders
were gratified by the Congressional support for the report.
A congressional resolution emphasizing
various aspects of the report is being actively discussed, he said.
Both the Congressmen Lehtinen and Ackerman pledged to continue working
with the Hindu American Foundation on these human rights issues, Meghani
said.
