‘India has great balance, understanding of the entire world.’
LANHAM, MARYLAND: Strongly supporting a permanent seat for India on the United Nations Security Council, influential US lawmaker Joseph Crowley (D-NY) has questioned the relevance of the body without the world’s largest democracy at the table.
“India represents one-sixth of the world’s population and it ought to have a position at that table”, said Crowley, Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, speaking at the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple where he was a special guest last Saturday.
“I strongly support it and hope the UN moves towards that”, he said. “I believe it is inevitable. It would make the institution laughable if at some point it does not recognize one-sixth of the world’s population in that Council”.
The lawmaker noted that when the UN body was created in 1946, India was not in a place to demand a position.
“The world has changed dramatically” since then, he said. “India will be the largest populated country in the world. The interesting aspect about India is that it has one foot firmly in the modern world and one foot firmly in the developing world which gives it a great balance and understanding of the entire world”.
Crowley was joined at the temple by: Dr. Vivek Murthy, President Barack Obama’s nominee for US Surgeon General; Dr. Alice Chen, Executive Director of Doctors For America, a grassroots organization that she has built with Murthy which advocates for affordable, accessible and better health-care; Mini Timmaraju, Chief of Staff for Congressman Ami Bera (Democrat – California); Mythili Bachu, Vice President of the Council of Hindu Temples of North America; and Jeremy Woodrum, Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Crowley. These special guests were invited by Shekar Narasimhan, an appointee to President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), a key Committee Chairperson at the temple, and a renowned, highly respected leader of our community.
Brushing aside any concerns about the furtherance of bilateral ties, Crowley predicted “great relations” for the world’s largest and greatest democracies.
“I, for one, am very bold in terms of my predictions as well as confident that our two nations will enjoy great relations in this century”, he said. “We are drawn together by commonalities of democracy and freedom”.
Referring to India’s election as “the incredible event that is taking place right now”, the lawmaker marveled that 815 million people are voting, of which 100 million are new voters. “There are probably as many new voters in India as there are voters in the US”, he said. “Somehow, that vote counts regardless of economic strata”.
Crowley deftly steered clear of any prediction or premonition regarding the possible outcome of the election.
“The Indian people will make a decision about who best represents them”, he said. “When that’s done, we will deal with whatever that government is”.
On the domestic front, he dwelt on the success of an issue which he has spearheaded — the FBI, under the Department of Justice, now recognizes hate crimes towards individual ethnic and religious minorities. Previously, “when a crime was committed against a Sikh American, it was presumed it was done because they (Sikhs) were thought to be Muslim”, he told the gathering. While, “no violence is tolerable”, he said, “it was important to delineate the statistics so that resources can be allocated to fight these crimes”.
Still, America is far behind other countries when it comes to allowing practicing Sikhs to serve in the armed forces. Congressman Crowley noted that “Sikh Americans are serving in the US military, but they have to go through a rigorous and unnecessary protocol to allow them to wear their religious garb”.
Of the three Sikh Americans currently serving in the military, the lawmaker has met one – Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi.
“He looks regal with his turban”, he said. “I would like the New York Police Department (NYPD) to follow suit and allow Sikh Americans to serve with their articles of faith.”
Narasimhan told temple leaders, “You and I know coming from India that Sikhs are, in fact, the backbone of the Indian military. You and I also know that in all the NATO forces, this is not even an issue – it is accepted. So, it has always been somewhat of an anachronism here in America.”
Narasimhan applauded Crowley for leading efforts in getting 105 members of the House and 15 Senators to write a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in support of Sikh Americans in the armed forces. The Defense Department has now agreed to re-examine the issue.
“Why does this affect us as Hindus?” Narasimhan asked. “Why should it affect us as Indian-Americans? When these issues occur, whether they are symbolic or real, the bottom-line is that they affect all of us. They discriminate. So, we all need to step up on these issues and Congressman Crowley has,” he said.
Narasimhan also commended the lawmaker for co-hosting the first-ever Congressional Diwali celebration on Capitol Hill, with the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple. Clearly elated at the success of this historic event, Crowley told the gathering, “We had over 500 people, over 30 bipartisan members of Congress”.
Crowley thanked Congressman Ami Bera (D-Hawaii), currently the only Indian-American lawmaker, and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), the first Hindu lawmaker who took the oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita, for their support.
“It was a marvelous event, the celebration itself”, he said. “It comes around the same time as Christmas and Hanukkah which are all celebrations of light over darkness, goodness over evil, knowledge over ignorance. All these celebrations talk to the commonality of mankind”.
Looking at Murthy, the lawmaker quipped, “I feel a little uncomfortable speaking in front of this underachiever. It’s an awesome responsibility, being placed in charge of the health and well-being of the United States”, he said.
As things stand, Murthy’s confirmation by the Senate is facing stiff opposition by the National Rifle Association. The Yale-educated, Harvard physician who, at 36, is the youngest nominee for US Surgeon General, has expressed his support for sensible, limited gun safety measures such as a ban on assault weapons, mandatory safety training and limits on ammunition. This has irked the potent gun lobby.
In his address at the temple, Murthy focused on the field of health and spoke about collaborating and giving back to the larger community.
“Among the many challenges facing America, I would put health at the top of the list”, he said. “Our challenges on the health-care front have economic consequences, national security consequences and ultimately, they will impact our standing and leadership in the world.”
Murthy observed that nowadays, health is largely determined outside of hospitals and clinics. It’s a result of “what we eat at home, in the physical activity we engage in”, he said.
It is noteworthy that the event was held at a temple where several members of the Indian American community have availed of, and benefitted from, services offered by free health clinics organized on weekends. Murthy underscored the importance of faith-based communities which he believed “can make a big difference in our health-related choices.”
“Temples can play a powerful role in giving people access to health-care,” he said. “People who might not go to hospitals and clinics, do go to their place of worship for screening” and other health-related issues.”
Murthy recalled that growing up, he spent several days a week at the temple, volunteering, helping to organize events with family members. He stressed the importance of making an impact outside the confines of the Hindu community.
Even as he spoke of “building bridges”, Murthy lauded the inclusiveness of the Hindu religion.
“We don’t think of Hinduism as the sole path to Moksha (salvation) or self-realization”, he said. “We think of our path as one of many paths that can lead to a destination. We give equal respect to all the different paths of religious worship”.
Murthy recommended reaching out to other faith-based groups and building collaborations to advance not just health, but other challenges that are faced by all community members.
“I am very inspired by leaders like Shekar Narasimhan who think about the challenges of the entire community and how to overcome them,” he said.
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The UNO has lost its status,it has not been to solve many problems among countries in the world,due to the fact that some powers have veto powers.If the UNO is to truly deliver what it was intended for,the veto powers must be removed first and other major countries like Germany,Brazil,South Africa,India,Saudi Arabia,Japan and Australia must be made permanent members of SC.
Under-educated, severely impoverished, and brutally exploited, Dalits
struggle to provide for even their most basic daily needs. Dalits must also
endure daily threats to their physical security from both state and private
actors. The violence by upper-caste groups against Dalits have two major
causes: the “untouchability” and discrimination upper-caste community
members practice on a daily basis[490] and the desire of upper-caste community
members to protect their own entrenched status by preventing Dalit development
and the fulfillment of Dalits’ rights.[491] A review of the political, social,
economic, and cultural status of Dalits in India shows the State Party to be in
violation of its obligation to respect, protect, and ensure Convention rights
to all individuals in its jurisdiction. India routinely denies Dalits the
rights and privileges that many of its other citizens take for granted.
This failure stems from the refusal to recognize that Article 1’s
prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of “descent” encompasses
social stratification on the basis of caste. Discrimination is entrenched in a
number of facets of the government-from the discriminatory practices of law
enforcement, prosecutors and judges, to the failure to eradicate segregation in
public services, including schools, and in residential arrangements, to the
failure to successfully implement programs to ensure the development and
protection of Dalits, including in particular Dalit women. The State Party has
also failed to ensure that private actors, in particular upper-caste community
members, observe the prohibition on discrimination. Retaliatory violence,
social and economic boycotts, and exploitative labor conditions enforced by
private actors are unchecked, resulting in violation of Dalits’ rights to
personal security and other rights that are notionally guaranteed by the
Constitution and various legislative measures. The widespread practice of
“untouchability” and the violation of Convention rights it entails
necessitate that India undertake comprehensive review and reform of the
existing law, polices, and practices that enable the extreme marginalization
and persecution of Dalits to continue unabated.
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/02/12/hidden-apartheid-0