SUNNYVALE, Calif. - The people of Pakistan are being consumed by the monster of terrorism unleashed by the Taliban, asserted Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., at the Hindu American Foundation’s annual dinner here Nov. 8.
Royce, co-chair of the influential Congressional Caucus on India, said, “The U.S. and India are facing the challenge of terrorism from Pakistan like we’ve never seen before.”
 “There should be no more F-16s for Pakistan,” said Royce, to large applause from the crowd of 250 people gathered in Sneha restaurant’s banquet room. “There should be no more Mumbai attacks by the LeT,” he said, to even louder applause.
The LeT, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, is widely believed to be responsible for the attacks in Mumbai last November, which killed 177 people.
Later, in an interview with India-West, Royce blasted the Pakistani government for dropping criminal charges against Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which fronts for the banned LeT. A Lahore court Oct. 12 dropped all charges against Saeed, who has denied any involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
Once terrorists are captured, they must be brought to the international courts in The Hague, said Royce, adding that Pakistan could not be counted on to justly prosecute terrorists.
Iowa state Senator Swati Dandekar, the first Indian American to be elected to a statewide office, was the evening’s keynote speaker. In a brief interview with India-West before her speech, Dandekar credited her extensive volunteerism with her foray into politics, which began with a win for a school board seat.
“I never thought I would get into politics,” said Dandekar, adding that she has not yet considered a congressional race. “If the opportunity comes up, I’ll look at it, and look at the impact to my family. But right now, my entire focus is on the Iowa state Senate,” she said.
Dandekar said she has been working on renewable energy issues, along with jobs generation for the state, and quality education.
“Hindus need a strong advocacy group worldwide, and the Hindu American Foundation is certainly situated to take on this challenge,” said Dandekar in her keynote speech. “This is a very impressive organization which deserves our whole-hearted support.”
“By promoting Hindu ideals, HAF stands against hate, discrimination and terrorism,” she said.
The evening event, which served the twin roles of education and fundraising, garnered $175,000 for the organization, Mihir Meghani, co-founder of HAF, told India-West. The Meghani family has pledged 20 percent of its income to HAF this year, and Mihir Meghani announced a pledge of $60,000 at the dinner.
HAF is currently focused on advocacy for ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka, and the organization is gathering support for congressional legislation to condemn the “indiscriminate violence” directed at Tamil women and children in that country.
The organization has also mounted campaigns to address treatment of Hindus in Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. HAF publishes an annual human rights watch, which surveys countries throughout the world for their treatment of Hindus.
HAF has also launched an extensive education campaign, featuring credit-card sized “Hinduism 2 Go” cards, which briefly outline the principles of the faith. Earlier this year, the organization successfully campaigned against the goddess Lakshmi’s use on a Burger King ad promoting meat.
A silent auction featured paintings, dinner with the Meghanis, and a diamond from jeweler Tanvi Jhaveri-Meghani. The auction also featured $500 bids for a producing credit on a documentary HAF plans to produce next year, telling the story of four Hindu refugees from Bhutan who now live in the U.S. In the early 1990s, more than 100,000 Hindus were evicted from Bhutan, according to HAF. The U.S. recently agreed to take in 60,000 Bhutanese refugees from temporary camps in eastern Nepal. |
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