A coalition of progressive organisations have organised a communal harmony walk and rally ‘Samarasyada Nadige, Sahabalve Samavesha’ in Udupi on May 14.
The rally will see the participation of religious leaders from all faiths and social activists to send out a message of inter-faith harmony, in the light of recent campaigns against minorities and communal disturbances in the State.
Gurubasava Pattadevaru of Hirematha Samsthana, Bhalki, Sugunendra Teertha Swami, Puttige Matha, Udupi, Zainul Ulamaa M. Abdul Hameed Musliyar Maani, Khazi, United Jamaat of Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan, Most Reverend GeeVerghees Maar Makriyos, Bishop of Putturu Malankara Catholic Church, will be among the religious leaders who will participate.
“Communal forces are interfering in private matters such as marriage, food and clothing. Education is being weaponised to attack harmony. It is our responsibility to ensure that harmony and syncretic cultures are nurtured instead of being dismantled. Therefore, several of us have come together to organize a unity march and a harmony convention in Udupi,” a statement from the organising committee of the convention said.
Historian Ramachandra Guha, who addressed mediapersons about the convention on Tuesday, said that coastal districts with their multiculturalism was a microcosm of Karnataka and it was sad that communal polarisation had taken root. “As a historian I can say that making one religion and language dominate over others will harm the country. We are seeing the visuals from Sri Lanka, a country with great potential that has self-destructed because of Sinhala and Buddhist majoritarianism. We don’t want Karnataka and India to go down that road. This convention will help us restore our strengths which are pluralism, diversity, tolerance and interfaith harmony,” he said.
