[Assam] Bangladeshi Hindus--Lajja--Hindu American Foundation Press Release: HAF Highlights Plight of Hindus in South Asia at Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing

[umesh sharma]

Hindu American Foundation <info at hinduamericanfoundation.org> wrote: From: "Hindu American Foundation" <info at hinduamericanfoundation.org>
To: "info" <info at hinduamericanfoundation.org>
Subject: Hindu American Foundation Press Release: HAF Highlights Plight of Hindus in South Asia at Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:56:56 -0700

                                                                       
www.hafsite.org
                        HINDU AMERICAN              FOUNDATION
PRESS            RELEASE
       
Human        American Foundation Highlights Plight of Hindus in South Asia at        Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing
 
       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
       For Media Inquiries contact:
HAF Executive        Director
Ishani Chowdhury
Office: 301.770.7835
Fax:        301.770.7837
Email: ishani at hafsite.org

Washington, D.C.        (July 18, 2007) -- In a first of its kind, the Hindu American        Foundation (HAF) was invited by the House of Representatives Congressional        Human Rights Caucus to testify at a briefing on human rights in        South Asia yesterday.  The briefing, held at the Rayburn House        Office Building on Capitol Hill, was co-sponsored by        the Task Force for International Religious Freedom and the India        Caucus.  The panel discussion was entitled, "Religious Freedom        Conditions in South Asia: The Treatment of Religious        Minorities."

"Our annual Hindu human rights report is        widely seen as a credible resource on a topic often overlooked        by many human rights groups and the international press and we have        been exploring ways in which we could bring more attention to this urgent        situation," said Ishani Chowdhury, the Foundation's Executive        Director.  "We are pleased that our interactions with the        Congressional Human Rights Caucus brought the issue of Hindu human        rights to the forefront at this        briefing."    

Highlighting the plight of        Hindus in Afghanistan and India's state of Jammu and Kashmir        specifically, Chowdhury urged assembled political leaders, human        rights groups, and the media to focus on what she described as        the non-proselytizing, peaceful populations of Hindus who are facing        persecution and discrimination in South Asia and in other parts        of the world.  She alluded to the more serious human rights        abuses in Bangladesh and Pakistan briefly, as other        panelists described conditions in detail in those two countries, and        focused on the HAF report's assessment of Hindu human rights in        Afghanistan and India's state of Jammu and Kashmir.  Sadly, with the        lack of media attention, documentation by human rights organizations,        think tanks or a voice from our leaders, the future of the Hindu        populations in many of these countries can be considered tenuous at best,"        Chowdhury said. 
 "Hindus, as adherents of a tolerant faith that        accepts a multiplicity of paths to realizing Truth, carry an important        message of pluralism and understanding that is a critical element of the        global dialogue today."

Among the panelists were Tad        Stahnke - Deputy Director of Policy at the U.S. Commission on        International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Patricia Carley - Associate        Director of Policy at USCIRF, Rosaline Costa of the Commission        for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops of Bangladesh, Angela        Wu - International Director at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and        Imam Daud Hanif - missionary in charge at the Ahmadiyya Movement in        Islam, USA.

Stahnke, while acknowledging the positive aspects of        Bangladesh society -- democracy, active media, and judiciary -- alerted        the audience to the extremist Islamist influence on politics and society        since the election of the BNP-led government in 2001, and the postponing        of general elections which was scheduled to be held in January 2007.         He mentioned the attacks on minorities, especially the largest minority --        Hindus, and of the rape, murder, confiscation of land and property, and        attack on temples that led USCIRF to declare Bangladesh as a country of        particular concern. 

Discussing anti-blasphemy laws in        Pakistan and anti-conversion laws in India and Sri Lanka, Wu also        expressed deep concern at the push by the Organization of the Islamic        Conference to have the United Nations pass a resolution urging a        global prohibition on the public defamation of religion.  Wu        urged the U.S. State Department to provide mandatory training to its        officers in engaging and negotiating with religious        leaders. 

Rosaline Costa, a native of Bangladesh, highlighted        the demographic trends in Bangladesh which has seen a 219 percent growth        in the Muslim population and the "loss" of 20 million members of the        minority religions, the majority of them being Hindus.  According to        Costa, the mass rape and gang rape of women, in front of their male        relatives, was a grave human rights abuse that has devastated the        Hindu population in particular and minorities in general. Describing        increasing attacks also faced by the Christian minority, Costa spoke of        gangs of Muslim men forcing Christians either to pay protection money or        demand that they give away their daughters.  She said she was witness        to such events on Bhola island.  Costa added that tribal people        who mostly follow animistic, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian traditions were        also brutally victimized, subject to gang rapes, evicted from their        lands,
 forcibly converted to Islam, and dropped out of voter        lists. 

Imam Hanif echoed the reality of similar        persecution faced by minorities in Pakistan, and said that the majority of        Muslim countries not only discriminate against minorities, but their laws        on apostasy and blasphemy have targeted the Ahmadis as an apostate        Muslim group.  He said that Islam as practiced and propounded in        Muslim countries is a distorted form of the "religion of        peace". 

Dr. Rahul Pandit, President, Indo-American Kashmir        Forum (IAKF), one of the attendees at the briefing lauded HAF for        highlighting the fate of Kashmiri Hindus.  "Given the 10-minute time        frame per speaker, it was not enough to fully describe the        Kashmir situation. However, the conditions leading to the Kashmiri        Pandit exodus in 1990 were reviewed, as well as their status in refugee        camps in Jammu. HAF related the details of the horrific torture and        murder of a family member of one of IAKF's directors, which along        with other details of the gross abuses against Pandits (Hindus) and the        further dwindling of the Pandit population in the        Valley drew the audience's attention."

"Our efforts at        tracking human rights abuse of Hindus in South Asia and the global        diaspora are finally getting the attention we feel they have always        merited," said Ramesh Rao, lead author of the HAF human rights report and        Executive Council member of the foundation, who attended the        briefing. "It is with a great sense of responsibility and strong        resolve that the Hindu American Foundation will continue in its role        as an emerging and persistent professional        organization giving voice to Hindu concerns around the        world." 

The Hindu American        Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting        the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.        Contact HAF at 1-301-770-7835 or on the web at www.HAFsite.org.

  
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Umesh Sharma

Washington D.C. 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)




www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )




http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
       
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