Congressional Statements

Congressman Crowley Celebrates 10th Anniversary of The Caucus on India and Indian Americans

Welcomes Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, Delegation of Indian Parliamentarians, and CII President Anand Mahindra

Press Release
May 20, 2003

Tonight, Congressman Joseph Crowley (NY-07), a member of the House Committee on International Relations and Co-Chair of the Caucus on India and Indian Americans, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Anand Mahindra, and a delegation of Members of the Indian Parliament led by Mrs. Krishna Bose joined Congressman Crowley at the Capitol Hill reception. Also in attendance were former Co-Chairs of the India Caucus.

"It is an honor for me to be here tonight to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans and to honor the past Co-chairs," said Congressman Crowley. This is an important event, which highlights the tremendous strides that the Caucus has been able to make over the past ten years. As members of the community you know all the work that you have done to raise the level of awareness in Congress towards India and I am proud to help facilitate this. As the Co-Chair of the House of Representatives Caucus on India and Indian Americans I have been using my new position to strengthen these ties and increase engagement between India and the United States. On my recent trip to India, I was able to see the strides the government is making in regards to infrastructure and the accomplishments the business community has made. I also saw how tremendous India's long-term economic potential is. I met with members of the Indian government and one of the major issues of discussion was Kashmir and the continued Pakistani cross border terrorist infiltration. Thankfully, statements coming from both India and Pakistan have been positive after Prime Minister Vajpayee took the high road by calling for talks with Pakistan and restoring diplomatic ties. I am pleased by the potential for peace talks but there can be no true movement until General Musharraf keeps his pledge and stops support of all cross border terrorism and ceases all support of terrorist activities. I pledge to continue to work hard to ensure the support of the United States government to India in the war against terrorism."

Mrs. Krishna Bose, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, led the delegation of Parliamentarians. The reception allowed Caucus members the opportunity to discuss ongoing developments in India and abroad. Krishna Bose has been a member of House of the People since 1999 and is currently the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. She has been elected to House of the People in 1996,

1998 and 1999. She is also member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Human Resource Development, and the Member Committee on the Empowerment of Women. Other Parliamentarians included Mr. Rama Mohan Rao, Telegu Desam Party; Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party; Mr. Rashid Alvi, Bahujan Samaj Party; Mr. Bikram Keshari Deo, Bharatiya Janata Party; Gen (Retd) Shankar Roy Choudhury, Independent and Mr. Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Indian National Congress.

Congressman Crowley is co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. He represents the second largest South Asian community in the United States, based in Jackson Heights, Queens. He is a member of the Committee on International Relations, and sits on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia and the newly established Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights.

Congressman Crowley concluded, "I will continue to support the relationship between the United States and India, which continues to improve every day, as a result of our common interest in preserving democratic systems of government. The Indian community plays an integral role in the prosperity and success of the United States. It is an honor for me to be the voice of this community on Capitol Hill."