'I will even walk barefoot for the minorities' Governor tells Archbishop Moras
Report & Pics by Fr. Adolf Washington
Bangalore, Aug 10: “I will even walk barefoot for the minorities if any of their rights or freedom is violated” Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj told Archbishop Dr. Bernard Moras when he called on the Archbishop at his residence, August 10, 5.30 pm, to greet the Prelate on his birthday.
From a cordial exchange of greetings and past memories of his acquaintances in various Christian institutions in India and abroad, the Governor, in his 50 minute meeting with the Archbishop went on to aver “at every cost I will ensure that the minority communities in Karnataka are protected, whether Christian or any other community. It is my resolve to ensure that not a brick of any minority institution is touched. I have even had talks with all top level police officers and shared my mind with them on these issues.”. “I am well aware and informed of the incidents that took place last year and am concerned why the peace was disturbed.”
“The ideologies and commitment of great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi cannot be overshadowed with the coming and going of Governments. I have a strong commitment to live up to those ideologies in the interest of the Nation”. He also commented on the book that he was authoring that carries all these ideas The Governor told the Archbishop that he is already going around meeting leaders of various minority communities in the State. President of the Karnataka Region Bishops Council, Archbishop Dr. Bernard Moras said “We have just recovered from the shock over the series of attacks on our communities and your assurance to us is certainly a great consolation.
The Church in Karnataka is certainly proud to know that you have such a commitment and dedication to uphold the values of democracy as we have heard your statements in the Media so often where you have vowed to ensure peaceful co-existence of all communities in the State”. The Governor suggested to the Archbishop that there should be healthy dialogue and a coming together of various minority communities to promote peace and harmony. “Dialogue between various religious groups can do great good in promoting harmony because true religion always promotes peaceful co-existence of every human being”. PRO of the Archdiocese, Fr. Adolf Washington, Finance Officer Fr. C Francis, Chancellor Fr. Michael and other officers of the Archdiocese Fr. Prem Kumar, Fr. Patrick Pinto were present at the meeting.
The Archbishop later lead the Governor to his private chapel and prayed over the Governor and for all leaders of the State.