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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas supports the protection of human |
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rights, democratic principles, and equal justice for all people, |
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and opposes all discrimination, including discrimination based on |
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religion and ethno-nationalism; and |
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WHEREAS, The nation of India was founded as a secular |
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republic in which members of all regional cultures, castes, |
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linguistic groups, and religious faiths are welcome, and India and |
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the United States share common values of democracy, the rule of law, |
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and the protection of human rights and liberty; however, the ruling |
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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of India's prime minister, |
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Narendra Modi, has promoted the suppression of free press, the |
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silencing of political dissent, governance through increasingly |
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divisive policies, and overt discrimination and violence against |
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religious minorities; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2002, Narendra Modi was chief minister of the |
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Indian state of Gujarat, and he failed to quell the monthslong |
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lynching of more than 1,000 Muslims, mass rapes of Muslim women, and |
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the destruction of 20,000 Muslim-owned homes and businesses as well |
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as 360 Muslim places of worship; his complicity and involvement in |
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the 2002 Gujarat pogrom prompted the U.S. State Department to deny |
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him entry into the United States from 2005 until his election as |
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India's prime minister in 2014; and |
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WHEREAS, On August 5, 2019, the BJP-led government revoked |
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Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special |
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semiautonomous status to the former Indian state of Jammu and |
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Kashmir, which was the only Muslim-majority state in the nation; in |
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revoking the article, the government implemented mass detentions |
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and imposed wide-ranging restrictions on communications and press |
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freedoms; and |
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WHEREAS, On December 11, 2019, the Indian government passed |
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the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA); under the guise of helping |
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refugees fleeing religious persecution from neighboring countries, |
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the act blatantly discriminates against Muslim Indians by favoring |
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Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian immigrants, while |
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specifically excluding Muslim people; the CAA is the first instance |
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of religion being used as a criterion for Indian citizenship in the |
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history of the nation; and |
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WHEREAS, BJP president Amit Shah has expressed support for |
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the nationwide expansion of the National Register of Citizens |
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(NRC); however, many Indians lack documentation to prove |
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citizenship, such as birth certificates, and the NRC expansion |
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could strip hundreds of millions of people of their citizenship |
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with no option to be re-naturalized; this would disproportionately |
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affect Muslims, oppressed castes, women, and indigenous |
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communities; in addition, when combined with an expansion of the |
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NRC, the CAA will allow for the disenfranchisement of India's |
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largest religious minority community and create a situation where |
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individuals could be deprived of citizenship if they are a Muslim |
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without documents; in 2019, India's government began building vast |
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detention camps to house individuals who are unable to provide |
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documentation of citizenship and who are unable to apply for |
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refugee status or asylum under CAA; and |
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WHEREAS, From 2019 through 2021, public protests in India |
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against CAA, NRC, and anti-farmer legislation have been met by |
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consistent and indiscriminate governmental repression, including |
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the firing of live ammunition at demonstrators, mass arrests, and |
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the imposition of restrictions on telecommunications and free |
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press; in 2021, several Indian states ruled by the BJP passed laws |
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to regulate religious conversions, making interreligious marriages |
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between Muslim men and Hindu women punishable by imprisonment if |
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the government determines that the marriage involved a fraudulent |
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conversion; and |
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WHEREAS, In September 2019, a "Howdy, Modi!" rally was held |
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in Houston, featuring Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, in what |
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the Washington Post ominously reported was "the largest-ever |
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gathering with a foreign political leader in the United States," |
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demonstrating the growing threat of the BJP's influence around the |
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world; and |
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WHEREAS, In its 2020 report, the U.S. Commission on |
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International Religious Freedom recommended that India be |
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designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC), stating that |
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the country is "engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and |
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egregious religious freedom violations"; in September 2020, |
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Amnesty International halted all work in India due to the |
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"heavy-handed tactics that Indian civil society has become |
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increasingly familiar with--part of the government's drive to |
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silence critical voices and stoke a climate of fear"; in its 2020 |
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Democracy Index, the Economist Intelligence Unit decreased India's |
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global ranking, citing "democratic backsliding" by authorities and |
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"crackdowns" on civil liberties as well as stating that the |
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Narendra Modi-led government had "introduced a religious element to |
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the conceptualization of Indian citizenship, a step that many |
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critics see as undermining the secular basis of the Indian state"; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, In its 2021 World Report, Human Rights Watch stated |
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that "the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government increasingly |
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harassed, arrested, and prosecuted rights defenders, activists, |
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journalists, students, academics, and others critical of the |
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government or its policies . . . [a]ttacks continued against |
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minorities, especially Muslims, even as authorities failed to take |
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action against BJP leaders who vilified Muslims and BJP supporters |
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who engaged in violence"; in its 2021 Freedom in the World Report, |
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Freedom House downgraded India from "Free" to a "Partly Free" |
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country, finding that "harassment of journalists and other |
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government critics has increased under Prime Minister Narendra Modi |
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and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as have |
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religiously motivated attacks against non-Hindus"; and |
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WHEREAS, All people deserve to live without fear or |
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intimidation in practice of their faith, and it is important to join |
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in the outcry against the anti-Muslim actions of the BJP-led |
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government in India; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby condemn rising ethno-nationalism and the |
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suppression of democratic principles in India; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives express |
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solidarity with the Indian-American community regardless of |
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religious, linguistic, and cultural identification, and affirm |
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support for the protection of human rights, democratic principles, |
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and equal justice for all people in Texas and beyond. |