IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 745 
Urging the Republic of India to end the restrictions on communications 
and mass detentions in Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as possible 
and preserve religious freedom for all residents. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2019 
Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself and Mr. WATKINS) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Urging the Republic of India to end the restrictions on 
communications and mass detentions in Jammu and 
Kashmir as swiftly as possible and preserve religious 
freedom for all residents. 
Whereas India is the world’s largest democracy and has long 
shared a unique and important relationship with the 
United States in promoting common values and uphold-
ing regional stability; 
Whereas India is the birthplace of 4 major world religions, 
including Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, is 
home to the world’s third-largest Muslim population, and 
has a proud Christian population, with three of India’s 
29 states remaining majority Christian; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:49 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR745.IH
HR745
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 745 IH 
Whereas India’s Constitution mandates a secular state that 
upholds the rights of all citizens to the freedoms of reli-
gion, expression, and speech and to equal treatment be-
fore the law; 
Whereas international human rights law holds that all people 
have the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in-
cluding freedom to practice, worship, or observe one’s 
own religion; 
Whereas, since 1989, Jammu and Kashmir has been the site 
of a 30-year conflict between the Indian government, 
local Kashmiris, and militants, that has claimed tens of 
thousands of lives, exacerbated by disenfranchisement of 
the local population and external state support for the in-
surgency; 
Whereas, on February 14, 2019, an Indian national and 
member of a Pakistan-based, United States-designated 
foreign terrorist organization conducted the deadliest ter-
rorist attack against Indian forces since 1989, killing 40 
security personnel; 
Whereas, on August 5, 2019, the Government of India cut 
all telephone service and internet access in Jammu and 
Kashmir, the 53rd time the Indian government restricted 
communication in Kashmir in 2019; 
Whereas the Government of India has stated that commu-
nications restrictions are required to stop terrorists from 
communicating with one another; 
Whereas the Government of India announced it had restored 
landline phone service to Jammu and Kashmir on Sep-
tember 5, 2019, and partially restored cellphone service 
on October 14, 2019; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:49 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR745.IH
HR745
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 745 IH 
Whereas 60 percent of the 6,000,000 mobile subscribers in 
Jammu and Kashmir rely on prepaid cellphones, which 
remain inoperable for communication, and text messaging 
and mobile internet services remain suspended; 
Whereas people across the United States maintain ties with 
family and friends in Jammu and Kashmir and have re-
ported difficulty contacting their loved ones since the 
communications blockade was imposed on August 5, 
2019; 
Whereas press accounts and human rights observers have 
documented that the communications restrictions derailed 
health services in Jammu and Kashmir, with patients re-
porting difficulty calling ambulances and hospitals, and 
physicians reporting difficulty accessing critical medicines 
for advanced stages of disease; 
Whereas the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters 
Without Borders, Reporters Committee for Freedom of 
the Press, and independent reporters have documented 
detentions and harassment of journalists in Jammu and 
Kashmir; 
Whereas the Government of India has barred senior United 
States Government officials and foreign journalists from 
traveling to Jammu and Kashmir since August 5, 2019; 
Whereas international human rights observers have docu-
mented the police’s use of excessive force against de-
tained people and excessive and indiscriminate use of pel-
let shotguns, tear gas, and rubber bullets against pro-
testers; 
Whereas data from the Government of India found that more 
than 3,800 people in Jammu and Kashmir were arrested 
between August 5 and September 6, 2019, 2,600 had 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:49 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR745.IH
HR745
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 745 IH 
been released from detention, and prominent political and 
business leaders remain in detention; 
Whereas the Jammu and Kashmir police have acknowledged 
that 144 children, as young as 9 years old, have been ar-
rested; 
Whereas Indian authorities have used the Public Safety Act 
to preventatively detain people for a broad range of ac-
tivities that are vaguely defined and without charge for 
up to 2 years in some cases, including human rights de-
fenders, journalists, political leaders, and people involved 
in protests; 
Whereas India’s Public Safety Act violates article 9(2) of the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by 
allowing authorities to not communicate grounds of de-
tention for up to 10 days of detention, and also to with-
hold any information considered ‘‘to be against the public 
interest to disclose’’; 
Whereas photographic evidence indicates that detained people 
have been required to sign surety bonds forbidding them 
from making statements or participating in political ac-
tivities as a condition of their release; and 
Whereas the Department of State reports that the security 
situation in Jammu and Kashmir remains dire, with in-
surgents and terrorists threatening the lives of civilians, 
armed forces, police, and government officials: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the dire security challenges faced 
by the Government and India in Jammu and Kash-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:49 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR745.IH
HR745
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 745 IH 
mir and the continuing threat of state-supported 
cross-border terrorism; 
(2) rejects arbitrary detention, use of excessive 
force against civilians, and suppression of peaceful 
expression of dissent as proportional responses to se-
curity challenges; 
(3) urges the Government of India to ensure 
that any actions taken in pursuit of legitimate secu-
rity priorities respect the human rights of all people 
and adhere to international human rights law; and 
(4) urges the Government of India to— 
(A) lift the remaining restrictions on com-
munication and to restore internet access across 
all of Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as pos-
sible; 
(B) refrain from the use of threats and ex-
cessive force against detained people and peace-
ful protesters; 
(C) swiftly release arbitrarily detained peo-
ple in Jammu and Kashmir; 
(D) refrain from conditioning the release 
of detained people on their willingness to sign 
bonds prohibiting any political activities and 
speeches; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:49 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR745.IH
HR745
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
•HRES 745 IH 
(E) allow international human rights ob-
servers and journalists to access Jammu and 
Kashmir and operate freely throughout India, 
without threats; and 
(F) condemn, at the highest levels, all reli-
giously motivated violence, including that vio-
lence which targets against religious minorities. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:49 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR745.IH
HR745
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS