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Village in Karnataka Sets an Example of Interfaith Bonding

The villagers have jointly launched a campaign to construct an entrance arch that leads to their respective religious places, namely Sri Vaidyanatha Temple, Al-Mubarak Juma Masjid and Infant Jesus Church.

MANGALURU — At a time when the Indian media is steeped in anti-Muslim and anti-Islam rant, a tiny hamlet called Pavoor in Mangaluru taluk of Karnataka has set a fine example of interfaith solidarity for the entire country to emulate.

Members of the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities living in the Pavoor village have taken a novel initiative to consolidate their interfaith relationship. It’s the common entrance to their places of worship.

The villagers have jointly launched a campaign to construct an entrance arch that leads to their respective religious places, namely Sri Vaidyanatha Temple, Al-Mubarak Juma Masjid and Infant Jesus Church.

The logic behind the project is that with a common entrance to the religious places, followers of all the three faiths, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism, will be able to meet and interact with each other frequently. This is bound to strengthen the bond they share with each other.

Speaking about the move, Mangaluru MLA UT Khader said that the residents cutting across religious and political lines have joined hands to construct this arch the foundation stone ceremony of which was held recently. Elected representatives, religious leaders and residents of the village came forward to lay the foundation stone for this symbol of religious harmony essential to peace in a multi-religious society like India.

Khader said, “The arch is built in memory of my father late UT Fareed, who was a MLA of the erstwhile Ullal constituency and an avid campaigner for religious harmony in this southern part of Karnataka.”

According to the MLA, the residents of Pavoor have been making continuous efforts to make their village a model of communal amity. They have made it a policy not to pay heed to any religious propaganda that could disturb peace of their village. This is the reason the people in the village live in perfect harmony amid the communal hatred that is, of late, sweeping throughout the country.

It’s because of the wisdom and untiring efforts of the residents the Pavoor village is today an oasis of peaceful coexistence where people live in perfect harmony immune from the inter-communal hostilities that we see is being instigated in the country in the name of religion and politics. It has set an example of unity in diversity which is the hallmark of existence of India.

In the times of Hindu-Muslim conflict while hatred has become a toast of the media, such tales of communal amity invariably go unreported; nevertheless they abound in the length and breadth of the country.  

The Pavoor village is a classic case of media neglect with none to tell to the world about the experience of peaceful coexistence.

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Syed Ali Mujtaba can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

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