A key United States Congressional committee has called for a public hearing on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in India to be held early next month.
California representative Lantos was one of the key members of the Congress who were instrumental in getting the Henry J Hyde Act pertaining to the civilian nuclear initiative between India and the United States passed in 2006.
Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen on Monday condoled the death of US Congressman Tom Lantos, by saying India has lost a "true friend" in his death.
Former vice president Hamid Ansari and four US lawmakers have expressed concern over the current human rights situation in India. They were speaking at a virtual panel discussion organised by the Indian American Muslim Council on Wednesday.
"The residents of one village, Dharhara in the Bihar state of India, plant mango trees when a girl is born dedicated to paying for the expenses associated her marriage," Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues told US lawmakers in a discussion with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing on child marriage last week.
While denying, along with the non-proliferation lobby in the United States, that it conspired to deliberately release this correspondence on the eve of the NSG meeting to scuttle the US-India deal as administration and diplomatic sources had contended, Berman's office and Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which has been in the forefront of opposing the agreement, said the fault lay with the Bush administration and the Manmohan Singh government
'As long as the prime minister's assurances are embodied in the 123 Agreement, we do not need to quarrel with an internal document of the United States.'
Since the new policy was instituted August 4, more than 50 such incidents have been reported across the country.
Khanna, an attorney who is perhaps one of the most articulate spokesmen of Indian Americans in the Democratic Party, argued political mobilisation is the final step for the community.
Close on the heels of a blistering missive by Congressman Tom Lantos, warning the TSA not to indulge in religious profiling of Sikhs several other lawmakers, both in the House and Senate, have also slammed the agency.
Reports in the media on Friday said US Senator Tom Lantos had written a letter to the prime minister asking India to 'sever' military ties with Iran and "terminate" all cooperation in the energy sector.
"We will support nothing with India in the NSG that is in contradiction to the Hyde Act. It will have to be completely consistent with the obligations of the Hyde Act," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Panel.
Lantos said the objective of his legislation is two-fold: "To prevent Iran from securing nuclear arms and the means to produce them. And to ensure that we achieve this goal in a peaceful manner."
A Bill has been introduced in the US Congress aimed at enforcing punitive action against companies doing business with Iran that may impact Indo-US nuclear pact and create obstacles for Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
Lantos was one of the critical law makers involved in the passage of the Henry Hyde Act of 2006 on the Indo-US nuclear deal. A strong supporter of India, he had made no bones of his displeasure on New Delhi's relations with Iran.
Top law makers led by Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives Tom Lantos have urged the Bush administration to maintain favorable conditions for importing products from India to keep up the pace of its trade with the Uni
Though it is seen as a positive for India, the bill authored by Congressmen Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos has its negatives too.
India on Thursday dismissed allegations made during a US Congressional Commission briefing that "violence" against minorities was taking place after the advent of the Modi government, saying it was based on lack of understanding of India, its Constitution and society.
The announcement came as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to re-designate about 10 countries as 'Countries of Particular Concern'.
'We also urge you to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,' said the letter signed by 34 top American lawmakers.
'He needs to control his foot soldiers by taking either stern action against the over enthusiastic members of his group or convince them to stop causing him this embarrassment.' 'We know that most of these leaders are not going to be prosecuted by Indian authorities. So we are seeking alternate means to bring them to justice,' FIACONA President John Prabhudoss tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
'I would urge my Indian friends to look at how significant the overall support was.'
Several eminent officials and experts from both India and the United States have told American lawmakers that a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre would be detrimental to the basic rights of the religious minorities in India.
California State Attorney General Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez battle each other to become California's next United States senator, after winning the top two spots in an open primary on Tuesday, reports Ritu Jha from California.
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