December 12, 2019, Capitol Hill, Rayburn Office Building, Foreign Affairs Committee Room held the talks on Foreign Affairs.
About 20 Indians showed up for the hearings for a presentation of a bill by representative Pramila Rajgopal on about India. We sat through the full hour, and India related topics did not come up. I asked the committee Chair, Representative Eliot Engle, and the Ranking Member, Michael McCaul, when? He said it was not scheduled, and they were surprised by our presence. I should have known better.
Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engle and Ranking Member Michael McCaul with Indian Americans.
More about the committee at www.ForeignAffairs.house.gov
I had a conversation with most of the people present in the visitor’s gallery, all Indians. A surprising question came my way, whose side was I on? I said on the side of what is right. As Americans, our interest is to preserve, protect, and defend democracies.
As Indian Americans, we have an interest in preserving the standards of civility and justice for our Motherland, India. We should not let the politicians who come and go, to disgrace our Motherland. Some of them seem to have believed in the current Indian government’s propaganda rather than look at our history of inclusiveness, the pluralistic ethos of India.
I did not get to say this but have mentioned it before. Most of the people were there for the Kashmiri Pundits. Indeed, we cannot find solutions to Kashmir without placing all the issues on the table.
It is a shame that the politicians are playing with the sentiments of the Pundits; the Congress Government did not resolve the situation of the Kashmiri Pundits, nor the BJP Government rehabilitate them. The Vajpayee government, and then the Modi Government, did not solve their problem but kept talking for political gains.
The Kashmiris Muslims and Pundits should not fall into the trap of the politicians, and they have to think about the future. They may have to live together on the same street, the same town, and the same state. They need to speak the language of goodwill and not aggravating the divide further. All of us owe to the next generation not to dump our problems on them, if we hate, let’s die with it but not pass that to the next generation. Shame on them if we pass on the hate to our children or anyone.
A short video – https://www.facebook.com/Dr.MikeGhouse/videos/10162748474435249/?t=18
Will wait for the India bill / congressional foreign affairs committee
Posted by Mike Ghouse on Thursday, December 12, 2019
God bless America, and God save India from a looming disaster.
Mike Ghouse