SHILLONG: At a time when instances of strife and religious fanaticism appear to have become the order of the day, people belonging to different faiths came together on Wednesday for the cause of harmony.
An all-faith prayer organised by the Central Puja Committee (CPC) on the occasion of Durga Puja saw Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and leaders of various religious institutions and political parties get together to reinforce the bonds of brotherhood breaking religious barriers.
The president of the Central Puja Coordination Committee, Naba Bhattacharjee, said the initiative begun in 1992 aims at bringing together people of all faiths before the onset of religious festivals at this time of the year in order to share ideas, strengthen bonds and celebrate together.
A leader of the Sikh community, Satnam Singh, said all religions teach love and programmes like the ‘get together of harmony’ rejuvenate such teachings.
Fr. John Mathur said that such gatherings send a good message to the country especially at a time when all is not well from the religious point of view. He said that as the country celebrates the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the ‘get together of harmony’ was furthering what the Father of the Nation preached, that religion should not separate but unite.
An Imam, Muhammad Faiz Ahmed, said the get-together will also send across a message to the people to respect each other’s religion and live as one in peace. He said that this proves that they want unity among themselves as “we are human first and religion only comes later”.
Religious leaders from Ramakrishna Mission and other institutions also expressed similar views.
People present at the programme also took the pledge to promote the feeling of unity among the communities. Several cultural programmes were also organised on the occasion.
