Mangaluru: Remember the infamous 2008 Church Attacks? The inglorious incident had caused irreversible damage to the social fabric of peace-loving Mangaluru. The Christian centers of worship were attacked by miscreants affiliated to some fringe saffron elements. The peace-loving Christians of the region had scripted history then by taking a stand that no innocent would suffer because of the misdeeds of a section. They upheld peace and harmony and several years after the incident, the Infant Jesus Shrine at Bikarnakatte, on outskirts of Mangaluru, on Thursday rejoiced and upheld the message of peace, unity and Hindu-Christian brotherhood.
The Church became witness to a first of its kind celebration as Shrine Director Fr Elias D’Souza and Karnataka Pranthia Saha Sanchalak of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh Dr P Vaman Sehnoy together accepted ‘rakhis’ that were tied around their wrists by Catholic women who had come to the Church, as part of Raksha Bandhan celebrations. It was an opportunity to uphold peace and harmony and also Hindu-Christian unity.
Rakshabandhan is a symbol of brotherhood and protection said Dr. Shenoy, speaking on the occasion. “It was a common event of Hindus started by Rajputs. Respecting India as Hindustan and one who upholds the Hindu tradition should be respected. This celebration emphasizes the importance of unity in the country, irrespective of the caste and creed,” he said adding that the priests of Infant Jesus Shrine wholeheartedly accepted the idea of Raksha Bandhan celebration in the premises. “We thank them for standing by the country and we must work to tackle challenges together, like terrorism and other evils of the society,” he said.
When newskarnataka.com spoke to Fr Elias, he said, Rakshbandhan is not held with a motive and it is not limited to any caste, creed or religion. “It fosters brotherhood. The proposal of leaders of the RSS was well reciprocated, because it intended to propagate the message of harmony. Such act of harmony is happening for first time in a church, and I wish the example prevails in the society. Such celebrations should take place in more churches or if possible in all the churches,” he said.
Frankline Monteiro compered the program and the shrine, Assistant Director Prakash D’cunha thanked all.
