Attacks on Christians to figure in US Senate

MUMBAI, Feb 20: There is substantial concern among the United States Congressmen, especially those on the far Right, about the attacks on...

MUMBAI, Feb 20: There is substantial concern among the United States Congressmen, especially those on the far Right, about the attacks on Christians and missionaries in India. The issue is likely to figure in the next session of the Congress and some Congressmen may even “link it to the lifting of sanctions” imposed after the Pokharan blasts last year, said Democrat Congressmen Jim McDermott, also the co-chairman of the Indo-US Parliamentary Working Group.

The US Congressional delegation visited Mumbai after four days in New Delhi. Among the significant items on their itinerary was a visit to the Bhabha Atomic Researh Centre (BARC) followed by a meeting with Atomic Energy Commission chairman R Chidambaram, the first time that Congressmen have sought direct information on the blasts and use of nuclear power in India.

Also significant was the visit to a Catholic-run school in south Mumbai. The delegation was surprised that the school had less than one per cent Christians on its rolls and wanted to know ifthis is a common trend.

Many Congressmen were concerned about the attacks on Christians — their primary sources of information were the Indian media and the Internet — though they were numerically few and isolated incidents. McDermott believed his colleagues on the Right and far Right could make a noise about the issue and argue that economic sanctions should not be lifted completely. This visit has generated information for the likes of McDermott and Democrat Gary Ackerman, chairman of the India Caucus, to counter the debate in the US Congress.

It helped that the delegation was able to gather on-hand information, discuss the issue with the President and Prime Minister of India, and get opinions from a cross-section of people. Ackerman missed Mumbai because he was taken ill and preferred to return a day earlier; the delegation comprised two other Congressmen Lloyd Alton Dogget and David E Price.

McDermott is an India-veteran having visited eight times earlier; the last time was a month ago. TheIndo-US Parliamentary Working Group, co-chaired by Congress party MP Murli Deora, was set up recently to facilitate “real and honest exchange” of information on national issues in both countries.

“There’s information and views beyond the typical bureaucratic and official sides that we hear. The Indo-US Parliamentary Working Group will help elected representatives in both countries to talk to one another,” said Deora. BJP MP T N Chaturvedi is the other Indian member in the Group, having recently replaced Jagmohan.

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The delegation met with Defence Minister George Fernandes — who apparently floored the members — and Foreign Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh while in New Delhi. The Singh-Strobe Talbott talks and the recent Indo-Pak thaw are not inter-linked, said the delegation members. While the Indo-Pak relations is of interest to some US Congressmen, many more are concerned about the Indo-US relations which were on the make since the Indian economic reforms in 1991 but were derailed by the Pokharanblasts. The Parliamentary Working Group believes that it can contribute to re-building these relations.