Shillong, Dec 29: The Mahila Congress of Meghalaya and the Central Puja Committee (CPC) have condemned attacks against churches and individual Christians during the days around Christmas.
In a statement issued yesterday, the CPC president Nababrata Bhattacharjee said that the committee noted “with deep anguish and concern” the recent spate of attack on churches and followers of the Christian faith in Nalbari in Assam, Chhattisgarh and other places in the country during the Christmas celebrations recently.
CPC Meghalaya “strongly condemns such incidents perpetuated by radical elements and urge both the state governments to immediately apprehend all the culprits and initiate stringent, exemplary action against all such unruly individuals and organisations, engaged in the heinous crime, with the agenda to create division among different religion and faith in the country.”
Two days before, the state Mahila Congress president Joplyn Scott Shylla reacted strongly to the actions, allegedly by the Bajrang Dal, in Rajpur and parts of Assam for allegedly instigating violence and intimidation against members of the Christian community during the celebration of Christmas.
“Such acts of hatred and aggression against a religious minority are deeply disturbing and go against the core values of India’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, equality and harmony among all communities,” Shylla said. “Christmas is a festival of peace, love and goodwill and any attempt to disrupt it through fear and violence is unacceptable.”
The Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress stands in complete solidarity with the Christian community and urged the concerned state authorities to take swift and strict action against those responsible. “We also appeal to all citizens and organizations to maintain communal harmony and respect the diverse cultural and religious fabric of our nation,” the statement added. “Violence and intolerance have no place in a democratic society. Peace, unity, and mutual respect must prevail.”
