The city has been home to people of different religions, cultures and languages and yet no one has felt like a stranger, said Reverend Thomas D’ Souza, archbishop of Kolkata.
The Archbishop’s House on Wednesday was the venue for an interfaith iftar organised by the United Interfaith Foundation, which promotes dialogue among communities.
“Calcutta has been home to people of different religions, traditions, cultures, languages and yet none of us ever felt that we are strangers. It is because of the brotherhood, the spirit of belonging to a family that exists in the city,” said the archbishop, also the president of the interfaith foundation.
People from different religions were part of the feast, joining their Muslim counterparts who broke their fast on Friday evening.
Reverend D’Souza said: “Today, I see all of you gathered at the Archbishop’s House. I am delighted to see that the spirit of brotherhood continues among us. I know we are a small group but the spirit must spread everywhere... The spirit of peace, harmony must spread... That’s the purpose for all of us to be here on this occasion as our Muslim brothers are in the last week of the month of Ramadan.”
Satnam Singh Ahluwalia, a Sikh who co-hosted the iftar along with the archbishop, highlighted his religious identity to underscore the significance of the programme.
“The beauty is that today a Sikh is organising iftar in a Christian home for Muslim brothers and sisters. We can follow any religion but this shows we are together,” said Ahluwalia, general secretary of the foundation.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who could not attend, sent a message. Foundation member Imran Zaki read it out: “It is indeed a great gesture to organise an iftar involving people belonging to different religions and communities.”
Moulana Qari Faziur Rahman, Imam-E-Eidaan, senior Imam, Bengal, said: “We need to understand that religious disharmony and disruption is made by man for their own purposes and not any superpowers that we may believe in.”
Ahluwalia said dialogue among people was important because “unless we know each other we cannot respect each other”.
Shahanshah Mirza, associated with the foundation, spoke of the hatred all around. “In today’s world, when there is so much hatred, poison... this iftar comes as a welcome change... A Muslim occasion being celebrated by everyone.”
Reverend Paritosh Canning, bishop of the Kolkata diocese of the Church of North India, said: “India is a pluralistic society. We have respect for everybody.”
