Diocese honours Hindu social worker

(February 17, 2011) A diocese in central India has chosen an octogenarian Hindu social worker as the first winner of an award that honours its long serving bishop. Federal minister Kantilal Bhuria presented the Bishop George Anathil Memorial Award to Anand Mohan Mathur at a function in Indore on Wednesday. More than a thousand people, including Hindu, Muslim and Sikh leaders, attended the ceremony. The award honours Bishop George Anathil who led the Indore diocese for 36 years. He died two years ago. The minister said the Church had chosen the “right person for the prestigious award” since Mathur, like Bishop Anathil, has devoted his life to social advancement. Bhuria also acknowledged that the late prelate had contributed a lot to the educational, health and social advancement of the region. Mathur, 82, is associated with several social organizations and movements and has built community halls, hospital buildings and developed public gardens in Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh state. He is also the founder president of Communal Harmony Foundation, an inter-religious forum that strives to bring various religious communities together. Bishop Anathil was the chair of the Office of Social Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. He also headed the Indian bishop’s commission for proclamation and communication.