Says ‘let us be sensitive to each other and avoid things that will create further division’
Dimapur, October 3 (MExN): The Nagaland Baptist Church Council has expressed resentment over the usage of the Naga traditional attires, artefacts and cultural pieces as decorative elements inside and outside the Durga Puja pandals in certain parts of the city in Dimapur.
“Religious celebrations and rituals should be done within the ambit of one’s own religious practice. What is intended to be an attraction can be taken as an insult to the community when unrelated culture and religious elements are used by others,” NBCC General Secretary, Rev Dr Zelhou Keyho stated in a press release on Monday.
Stating that the intention appears to be to “provoke and hurt the sentiments of the people and to give false presentation and impression to the outside world that Nagas are Hindus,” it further asserted that “Propaganda is as serious as false conversion accusation used by the Hindu majority group to persecute and demolish the sacred institutions of the Christians.”
The NBCC went on to state that using cultural items without knowing its deep-seated meaning would go a long way in creating misunderstanding between communities. “What the Hindu community has done is not only an insult to the culture of the people of the land but it is a religious bigotry and blasphemy.”
“Decorate your pandals according to your Hindu culture and religious practices and do not hurt the sentiment of the community who are different from you by misusing their culture, traditions and practices,” it added.
Meanwhile, the NBCC urged, “let build bridges and not walls which will widen the misunderstanding that has been created.” Let us be sensitive to each other and avoid things that will create further division during religious festival and ceremony. Let us learn to respect each other and peacefully celebrate our festivals and religious ceremonies, it added.
