HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

94-2

76-718

HEARINGS

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JUNE 23, 28, 29; SEPTEMBER 16 AND 23, 1976

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $2.20

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

THOMAS E. MORGAN, Pennsylvania, Chairman

ROBERT B. BOETTCHER, Subcommittee Staff Consultant
JOHN P. SALZBERG, Special Consultant

THOMAS R. SMEETON, Minority Subcommittee Staff Consultant
JEANNE M. SALVIA, Staff Assistant
JOSEPHINE WEBER, Staff Assistant
RICHARD MAUZY, Research Assistant

CONTENTS

WITNESSES

Wednesday, June 23, 1976:

Dr. Homer A. Jack, Secretary General, World Conference of Religion for Peace

Page

1

Prof. Ainslie T. Embree, associate dean, School of International Affairs, Columbia University--

18

Tuesday, June 29, 1976:

Prof. Ved P. Nanda, School of Law, University of Denver..

39

Rev. James K. Mathews, Bishop of the Washington Area, United
Methodist Church

48

Jagjit Singh Chohan, President of the International Council of Sikhs_ Tuesday, June 29, 1976:

51

Ram Jethmalani, Chairman, Bar Council of India....

73

Charles Reynolds, International Secretary, Ludhiana Christian Medical College__

86

Thursday, September 16, 1976:

Leila Kabir Fernandes, wife of George Fernandes, chairman of the
Socialist Party of India and president of the All-India Railway
Men's Federation_

111

Shrikumar Poddar, founding member of The Indians for Democracy_Thursday, September 23, 1976:

123

Adolph Dubs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South
Asian Affairs, Department of State---.

147

Hon. Arthur Z. Gardiner, Jr., Assistant Administrator for Asia,
Agency for International Development_-_-

Claude-Armand Sheppard, attorney, observer of the trial of P. R. Sar-
kar in Patna, India (leader of the Ananda Marga religious society) -
Craig Runde, former director of P. R. Sarkar International Defense
Committee..

150

159

173

APPENDIX

1. Exhibits submitted by Dr. Homer A. Jack:

Report entitled "The Erosion of Fundamental Rights in India
Today," by Dr. Homer A. Jack.......

Reports of ill-treatment of political prisoners held under emer-
gency legislation in India (by Amnesty International).
Letter to Prime Minister Gandhi from several Indian citziens__
Report on "Torture of Political Prisoners in India" submitted by
the International League for Human Rights and Indians for
Democracy

Letter to Secretary General of the United Nations, Kurt Wald-
heim from the International League for the Rights of Man----
Article entitled "80 Americans Appeal to India to Restore Funda-
mental Rights," from the New York Times, March 5, 1976___
Article entitled "India: More Repression," from the New York
Times, February 5, 1976__

177

197

198

199

205

210

213

2. Letter to Prime Minister Gandhi from Hans Ehrenstrale, Deputy Sec-
retary General of Amnesty International (London).
3. Mailgram to Prime Minister Gandhi from Manoranjan Dutta, presi-
dent, the Association of Indians in America, Inc---

214

4. Article entitled "Fading Hope in India", from the New York Times, April 30, 1976___

APPENDIX-Continued

5. Article entitled "Economic Prospects Bright, Says World Bank Report" from India News (published by the Embassy of India) May 28, 1976___.

6. Selected exhibits submitted by Mrs. Fernandes :

Exhibit 1: Letter of George Fernandes to Indira Gandhi--Exhibit 6: Letter from Alice Fernandes to the President of India concerning her son, Lawrence Fernandes__

Page

219

221

222

Exhibit 7: Letter to the Editor, The Times (London) from politi-
cal detainees in Tihar Jail, Delhi_.

224

Exhibit 8: Christmas Newsletter by George Fernandes from the
Underground in India, 1975----

225

7. Statement submitted by Prof. R. P. Misra, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J..

231

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Other Documents in the Series

Human Rights in the World Community: A Call for U.S. Leadership. March 27, 1974. (Report of the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.) International Protection of Human Rights: The Work of International Organizations and the Role of U.S. Foreign Policy. August 1; September 13, 19, 20, 27; October 3, 4, 10, 11, 16, 18, 24, 25; November 1; December 7, 1973.1 (Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.) Human Rights in Chile (Part 1). December 9, 1973; May 7, 23; June 11, 12, and 18, 1974. (Joint hearings by the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements and the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs.) Treatment of Israeli POW's in Syria and Their Status Under the Geneva Convention. February 26, 1974. (Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements and the full committee.)

Problems of Protecting Civilians Under International Law in the Middle East Conflict. April 4, 1974.4 (Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.)

Human Rights in Africa: Report by the International Commission of Jurists. June 13, 1974. (Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.)

Review of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. June 18 and 20, 1974." (Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.) Soviet Union; Human Rights and Détente. July 17 and 25, 1974.* (Joint hearings by the Subcommittee on Europe and the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.)

Torture and Oppression in Brazil. December 11, 1974. (Before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.)

Human Rights in South Korea and the Philippines: Implications for U.S. Policy. May 20, 22; June 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 24, 1975.1 (Before the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.)

Human Rights in Chile (Part 2). November 19, 1974. (Joint hearing by the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs and the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.)

Human Rights in South Korea: Implications for U.S. Policy. July 31, August 5. December 20, 1974. (Joint hearings by the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs and the Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements.) Human Rights in Haiti. November 18, 1975.2 (Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.)

Human Rights in Chile. December 9, 1975. (Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.)

Chile: The Status of Human Rights and Its Relationships to U.S. Economic Assistance Programs. April 29; May 5, 1976. (Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.)

Psychiatric Abuse of Political Prisoners in the Soviet Union: Testimony by Leonid Plyushch. March 30, 1976. (Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.)

Human Rights in Indonesia and the Philippines. December 18 and May 3, 1976.' (Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.) Anti-Semitism and Reprisals Against Jewish Emigration in the Soviet Union. May 27, 1976. (Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations.)

See footnotes on following page.