Congressional Statements

Rep. Lewis expresses support for stronger relationship between US and India

Letter to President Clinton
July 18, 2000

Dear President Clinton:

I am writing to commend you for your recent trip to India and to express my support for your efforts to strengthen the relationship between the United States and India.

The United States and India share a common democratic heritage which is based on equal protection under the law. While the Subcontinent continues its struggles to bridge religious and ethnic divisions, progress is being made. Recent crimes against Christians in India were condemned by senior members of the national government, members of the Parliament and the Indian press. In addition, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has stressed that "India is a land of many faiths, all of which enjoy equal respect not only in the Constitution but in our millennia-old national culture." The Prime Minister has also urged that, "It is incumbent upon the state governments to take firm and determined action against those who indulge in such violence because prompt response and swift action are essential for maintenance of communal harmony, peace and law and order." During his meeting with Pope John Paul II in Rome last month, the Prime Minister assured the Pope that the Indian government would take the necessary measures to ensure an atmosphere of interfaith harmony.

As you said in your recent address to the Indian Parliament, "India and America are natural allies, two nations conceived in liberty, each finding strength in its diversity, each seeing in the other a reflection of its own aspiration for a more humane and just world." As our bilateral relationship continues to grow, I believe that the United States and India should expand their cooperation to build peace and security in South Asia, strengthen democratic institutions, fight challenges to democratic order, reduce impediments to bilateral trade and investment, preserve stability and growth in the international economy, meet global environmental challenges, and eradicate human suffering. We cannot initiate these efforts soon enough and I applaud your extension of an invitation to Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit the United States in September.

I strongly agree with your recent assessment that, "For all the troubles [India has] seen, surely the subcontinent has seen more innocent hurt in the efforts to divide people by ethnicity and faith than by the efforts to bring them together in peace and harmony. Under trying circumstances, [India has] shown the world how to live with difference...that tolerance and mutual respect are in many ways the keys to our common survival."

It is my strong belief that we should do all we can to support efforts at improving relationships between India's numerous religious and ethnic groups. One of the best ways we can do so is to strengthen ties between the United States and India. I encourage you to continue your efforts in this regard.

Sincerely,
John Lewis (D-GA)