Amritsar Sep 1 : Infected by the rising instances of attacks on community gatherings and churches as well as community gatherings, the Christian community in Punjab on Thursday demanded tough action against the perpetrators of these attacks, in addition to seeking appropriate security measures to protect the local community as well as making an appeal to ensure peace and harmony in the country.The group was represented by the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Dioceses of Amritsar and Chandigarh, Church of North India (CNI) and the Salvation Army, and the Methodist Church, who came together under the banner of “Masihi Maha Sabha” and held a conference at the Alexandra High School in Amritsar on Thursday.
The event took place two days after an unidentified group of people in Tarn Taran district allegedly violently entered an area church and vandalized the statue of Jesus and Mary.They also burned the pastor’s vehicle.
At the meeting that was held, it was decided to have a candlelight prayer service in the respective churches of these religions on September 3rd to ask for peace and harmony.
The community leaders claimed that the fight has been triggered because of religious issues.
They also urged the Centre and state governments to take serious note of the attacks that they described as an egregious infraction of the Christian community’s Constitutional right of freedom of religion and to ensure the culprits of the incident are brought to the book.
Speaking about the incident in Tarn Taran, Bishop Agnelo Gracias the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Jalandhar stated that he visited the area to assess the state of the situation.
“We have always worked to create an environment of peace in these areas however, at the same time , we condemn the vandalisation of our parish,” he said.
Rev.
Danzel People, Bishop of the Diocese of Chandigarh He urged the people to ensure peace and harmony in the society.
“The church must take steps in order to preserve the unification of the Christian community,” he said.
Major Makhan Masih from the Salvation Army and Rev.Ilyas Masih of the Methodist Church too reiterated a similar point of view.
Rev P.K.Samantaroy Bishop, Diocese of Amritsar (DoA), who is also the President of the Masihi Maha Sabha, said that the Christian community in Punjab condemns the attacks.
“The Indian Constitution allows every Indian to follow the religion of their choice.
These actions are clearly in of a violation of the Constitutional rights of the Christians and we condemn with a strong conviction.If someone is caught engaging in any illegal activity and is caught, the action must be taken in accordance with the law.We encourage that people not take the law in their own hands,” he said.
Calling the attacks an obvious attempt to divide people of Punjab, Samantaroy said that any voice that is divisive is dangerous and must be handled with with a firm hand.
The speaker said that the Indian Christians are a peace-loving community, totally committed to the development and welfare of their country, he said that this is evident in their contribution to various areas, such as education, health etc.throughout the years.
“The Church in India is entirely committed to the goal of building a nation.It is the organizer of numerous interfaith social outreach projects aimed at tackling social ills that plague the majority of the Indian society.
Our people are as Indian as any other individual born and raised in India regardless of his religious beliefs.We are entitled to practice our faith with the same liberty as other Indian,” he added.
In arguing the fact that Christianity isn’t an European religion as it is widely believed to be, Samantaroy said it was introduced in India in the first century AD by St Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ, long before it was widely spread in Europe.
“Jesus Christ taught us how to live in peace, forgiveness, love and reconciliation, all of which enhance humanity’s dignity.
This is the reason the religious faith and the adherents to it must be treated with the respect they merit,” he said.
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