GUJARAT UNITED CHRISTIAN FORUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
C/o. Bishop’s House, Mirzapur, Ahmedabad 380 001, Gujarat, India Tel: 91-79-25624015
Unprecedented Peaceful Protest Rally for Orissa in Ahmedabad
It was a Protest Rally that Ahmedabad had rarely seen before. Hundreds and thousands, walking silently through the main arteries of the city, in a five kilometer stretch, brought vehicular traffic to a grinding halt. Since 2002, civil society in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat has always been a bit cautious, in coming out to protest about injustices....therefore, this Rally was historic indeed !
The Rally which was held on Tuesday, 2nd September 2008 was under the banner of Gujarat United Christian Forum for Human Rights (GUCFHR) and brought together not only Christians, but several other persons of goodwill, from different faiths. It began at the CNI Church at Victoria Gardens.
Leading the Rally, were top Church Leaders: Rt. Rev. Bishop Vinod Malaviya (CNI Gujarat), Rt. Rev. Bishop Thomas Macwan (Ahmedabad Catholic Diocese), D.S. Ravikant Master (Medhodist Ahmedabad Dist. East), Rev. Fr. V. J. Thomas (Orthodox Church), Rev. Fr. Eapen Abraham (Mar Thoma Church), Rev. Rameshchandra Parmar (Synod President Alliance Church), Major Jaswant Macwan (Salvation Army), Rev. Pankaj Parmar (Seventh Day Adventist), D. S. Satish Rathod (Methodist Ahmedabad Dist. West) among others.
This Silent Peace Rally was undertaken to bring home their demands for Justice, Peace and Communal Harmony in Orissa and the rest of India, where, of late, entire minority communities, their homes, places of worship and properties have been targeted in the name of religion, while the police and so called “guardians of law” have been “looking the other way”, and who, very often, have been the instigators of heinous crimes.
At the culmination of this Peaceful Protest Rally, a public assembly was held at the Mount Carmel Cathedral, Mirzapur where the Bishop of Ahmedabad Rt. Rev. Thomas Macwan addressed the gathering saying “No one has the right to take the lives of innocent people. We urge the concerned authorities to investigate the Orissa incidents and find the real culprits behind the attacks and take stern legal action against them. Blaming the entire Christian community for these murders without a shred of evidence and unleashing a reign of terror against them is complete unjustified”.
D.S. Ravikant Master of the Methodist Church then read out a passage from Sacred Scripture.
Fr Francis Parmar, Principal of St. Xavier’s College of the city, in a hard hitting message said “I am born an Indian, proud to be an Indian, and I will not tolerate anyone who is out to tarnish my Indian image, my Indian identity”. He was very clear when he said “my dear brothers and sisters, it is time we understand the seriousness of the evil designs of the fundamentalist fascist forces at play all around us, and stand united in our fight against them, lest there comes a day when there will be no one left to fight for us, when evil comes to our doorsteps and strikes us.....it is time we wake up, stand united and fight these evil fascist forces, before they destroy us and “our beloved India” !
Fr. Cedric Prakash the Convenor of the GUCFHR then read out the Memorandum which was to be sent to the Governor of Orissa, the President, Prime Minister and Home Minister of India pressing for their various demands for bringing about Justice, Peace, Communal Harmony in Orissa and providing full protection, relief and rehabilitation to the suffering victims.
Rt. Rev. Bishop Vinod Malaviya then lead the gathering into a final Prayer and blessing, followed with the singing of our National Anthem.
Veronica D’Souza 3rd September 2008
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