'Attacks in New Zealand, Sri Lanka Won’t End Humanity’

New Delhi: The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism organised a public gathering to offer condolences and prayers to the victims of the terror attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Day which killed more than 350 people and injured many. The peaceful gathering was conducted on April 24, 2019 near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai.

The gathering began by observing two-minutes of silence and remembering the victims of the attacks, followed by a small prayer by students and faculty of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work.

Prominent social activists like Irfan Engineer, Fr. Myron Pereira, Feroze Mithiborwala, Salim Alware Dr. Lidwin Dias, Principal of Nirmala Niketan and senior journalist Jatin Desai addressed the gathering.

All the speeches upheld that the only way to fight terrorism, is through love and unity among various religious communities. The placards at the gathering also conveyed messages of love, peace and harmony.

Some of the placards carried messages like – ‘Terrorism has no religion’; ‘Whoever kills any innocent person, kills entire humanity’, ‘Attacks in New Zealand and Sri Lanka Won’t end Humanity’. They also took the opportunity to remember how Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, responded with love and humanity when the ghastly terror attacks took place in the mosques of Christchurch, New Zealand earlier in March this year in which nearly 50 people were killed, and urged that the same approach should be followed by all.

The gathering was attended by approximately 70 people including activists, students, teachers, journalists from all religions in the presence of representatives from the media as well.