2010-03-31 15:57:58

Interreligious group hoping to bring peace in India’s riot-hit city


(March 31,2010) Interreligious groups in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh State are trying to bring peace in the riot-hit city of Hyderabad. Two days of Hindu-Muslim clashes forced police to impose a curfew on Monday in some areas of the city. One person was killed and several wounded, when groups of Hindus and Muslims clashed in the old area of the city The violence followed disputes over hoisting religious flags in public places. Interreligious groups are trying to bring leaders of the clashing communities together in order to work out a solution, said Mazher Hussain, executive director of the Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA), an inter-faith forum. Mazher said people in the affected areas are very poor and hardly have food, if they do not go to work. COVA is trying to collect resources to give them relief as the curfew is expected to last for well over a week, he said. Fr. Anthoniraj Thumma, executive secretary of Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches, an ecumenical forum and COVA member, told UCA News that the federation members plan to visit the troubled areas and counsel people for peace.









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