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December 4, 2013
Namaste HAF supporters,
U.S. Congressmen Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) are at it again. They've introduced another anti-India and anti-Hindu piece of legislation in Congress -- House Resolution 417 (H. Res. 417).
Supporters of this legislation have hired a lobbying firm to encourage Congressmen to support it. We need YOU to counter their efforts by calling your Representative TODAY. We have till Friday 5:00pm to make a lasting impact.
HAF has been personally reaching out hundreds of Congressmen. But Congressmen want to hear from their constituents - meaning YOU.
What makes H. Res. 417 flawed?
- Blames only Hindu nationalism for communal violence and ignores the fact that 80% of attacks in India in 2012 were carried out by the Indian Mujahideen, with much of the remaining 20% carried out by Maoist terrorists;
- Fails to mention the attacks on Akshardham, Bodh Gaya, and others in India as well as the communally charged public statements by Islamist leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, Andhra Pradesh MLA, in 2013 against Hindu deities and practitioners;
- Calls for the creation of religious minority courts to conduct trials and appeals - a suggestion that neither Congressmen has offered to 1) countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Malaysia, where religious minorities face serious repression and; 2) the U.S., where courts, like in India, are secular in nature;
- Ignores India's unprecedented religious accommodations for minorities, and instead calls for the repeal of "anti-conversion" laws while failing to mention the detrimental impact on social harmony caused by predatory proselytization and coerced conversions primarily carried out by U.S. based missionary outfits;
- Disregards the findings of the Indian Supreme Court's Special Investigative Team (SIT) absolving Modi of complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots and omits the findings of the SIT which uncovered that some human rights activists deliberately falsified evidence and concocted macabre incidents of violence.
What should you say?
Click here to find your Representative's contact information. Call only your Representative's Washington, D.C. office, NOT your Senators.
There are 29 Representatives currently supporting this resolution. Scroll to the bottom to see if your representative has signed and follow the first script. If your representative is not on the list, follow the second script.
If your Representative is on this list, please use the following script:
Hello my name is <YOUR NAME>, and I am a constituent of Representative <Rep's NAME>. I, along with many members of the local Indian American community, am extremely upset that my Representative co-sponsored H. Res 417 - a resolution that is highly critical of India's pluralistic ethos and independent judiciary, and undermines US-India relations.
As a constituent, I am asking that the Congressman rescind his/her co-sponsorship. I would like to email your office a letter from the Hindu American Foundation that explains the community's concerns in detail. Can you please provide me with the email address of the appropriate staff member?
If your Representative hasn't co-sponsored the resolution, please use the following script:
Hello my name is <YOUR NAME>, and I am a constituent of Representative <Rep's NAME>. I am asking my Representative not to co-sponsor House Resolution 417. While it praises India initial, it quickly becomes critical of India's pluralistic ethos and independent judiciary, and it undermines US-India relations. As Hindu Americans, we are appalled that this inaccurate and flawed legislation was even introduced. I would like to email your office a letter from the Hindu American Foundation that explains the community's concerns in detail. Can you please provide me with the email address of the appropriate staff member?
Once you've called, please fill out this quick form so HAF knows you've played a key role! HAF may need constituents of certain House members to play a bigger role.
Current Co-Sponsors of H.Res 417:
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Arizona | Arkansas |
Colorado |
California | | Raul Grijalva [Dem-3] |
Tim Griffin [Rep-2] |
Jared Polis [Dem-2] | Tony Cardenas [Dem-29] |
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| | Connecticut |
Georgia |
Indiana | Kansas |
| James Himes [Dem-4] |
John Lewis [Dem-5] | Andre Carson [Dem-7] |
Tim Huelskamp [Rep-1] |
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| | Massachusetts |
Michigan |
Minnesota | New Jersey |
| James McGovern [Dem-2] |
John Conyers [Dem-13] | Keith Ellison [Dem-5] |
Bill Pascrell [Dem-9] |
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Betty McCollum [Dem-4] | Albio Sires [Dem-8] |
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| Collin Peterson [Dem-7] |
Chris Smith [Rep-4] |
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| | North Carolina |
Oklahoma |
Ohio | Pennsylvania | |
Mark Meadows [Rep-11] | Tim Cole [Rep-4] |
Steve Chabot [Rep-1] | Mark Doyle [Dem-14] |
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Scott Perry [Rep-4] |
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Joe Pitts [Rep-16] |
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| | Texas |
Virginia | Washington |
Wisconsin | |
Randy Weber [Rep-14] | Jim Moran [Dem-8] |
Jim McDermott [Dem-7] | Ron Kind [Dem-3] |
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Frank Wolf [Rep-10] |
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James Sensenbrenner [Rep-5] |
This is important. We need to put our elected leaders on notice that they cannot ignore the concerns of their Hindu American constituency. Please call TODAY.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at j...@hafsite.org, or 202.223.8222.
Sincerely,
The HAF Team
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