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Summary
Punalur is a city situated near the Tamil
Nadu-Kerala border in the Kollam District, in the Southern State of Kerala,
India. It is situated on the banks of the Kallada River, receiving its
name from two Tamil words; punal, meaning “water” and ooru,
meaning “town”, therefore “town of water”. It is about 45 km north-east
of Kollam and 75 km north of Thiruvananthapuram. It is also known as the "Lap of the
Western Ghats”. Jyothirgamaya CC is
located in this city. This CC mainly aims to spread the message of peace to
younger generation. They also promote empowerment of women and children.
Interreligious dialogues, celebrating festivals of all religious, self help
units are some among their important activities.
QUESTIONS:
1.
What is the current religious/cultural/social
context in the area where your CC is working?
Punalur
is a city which is close to Tamil Nadu and people of various communities like
Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Dalits live in this city. There is a large
group of Tamilians (people from Tamil Nadu) also in this area. It is a historic
city where we have the famous hanging bridge built by the Britishers. Lot of
tourists visits this area every day to see the hanging bridge, which is more
than two centuries old. It was renovated recently and attracts large number of
visitors, including foreigners.
Punalur Suspension Bridge or Hanging Bridge, the ONLY ONE in
Kerala and possibly first in the World was built by Albert Henry, a Scottish
Engineer, across the Kallada River in the year 1877.
The
proximity to Palaruvi waterfalls and Thenmala Ecotourism project makes this all
the more important a city in Kerala. There are a large number of schools and
colleges in this city. It is also famous for the first Paper Mill established
in Kerala State. Generally people live in a state of peace but occasionally
there are conflicts among different political parties and communities.
Thenmala Dam
2.
Why is interfaith/intercultural bridge
building needed in the area where your CC works?
There is occasional friction among the communities especially due to
the presence of large number of Sri Lankans in the forest area. So many
refugees from Sri Lanka settled here during LTTE struggle. There is also
conflict between people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu based on the water issue in
Mullaperiyar Dam. This is a century old issue in the name of water. The water
of the dam is to be given to Tamil Nadu as per original contract signed by both
states, but there is a lot of apprehension about the security of the dam, which
was built a century ago using a mix of mud and lime. So interfaith bridge
building is very essential in this area. We have to be vigilant always to avoid
a conflict at any point of time.
· District
level elocution competition conducted in connection with the International Day
of Peace for the students from classes 7-12 at PSS Hall, Punalur. The program
was inaugurated by Rev. Dr. Christy Joseph, Parish priest , St. Mary’s
Cathedral, Punalur and prizes distributed by Prof. John Kurakar, URI Global
Trustee,T.G. Stephen and Dr Samuel Nellikadu.
· BAKRID
CELEBRATION: CC visited various religious centers in Trivandrum in connection
with bakrid day celebration.
4.
Between which specific religions
or cultures are bridges being built?
Our main emphasis is fostering peace and
harmony among Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Dalits and Tribals. There is a large
concentration of tribals also in this area due to the proximity of the forest.
There is big exploitation of the poor tribals because of illiteracy. We want to
undertake programs for empowering the tribals through literacy programs.
5.
Please explain the method or
strategy that your CC uses to bring together people of different cultures and
faiths that would otherwise not interact or cooperate with each other.
We conduct various
interreligious programs, camps, seminars etc. People of all religions are
invited and they take part in these with enthusiasm.
6.
Given the current context you described,
what does your CC hope to achieve (goals)?
We
hope to achieve harmony and peace among all religions in our locality and to
spread the message of interreligious harmony to the coming generation. Dalit,
Tribal and Women empowerment also include among our major goals.
7.
How do you see your CC’s work improving
cooperation among people of different traditions?
Inter
religious dialogues help to promote compassion and equality among CC members
and we conduct various competitions for students to develop and orient them. We
help different School CCs also to promote YLP Programs.
8.
How is the work of your CC helping to
prevent religiously inspired violence or transforming conflict? (NOTE: This
question is relevant only in areas with violence/open conflict.)
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9.
What are some observations or signs you see
that relations are improving between people of different faiths/cultures in the
area where your CC works?
We celebrate Bakrid, Holi and
Christmas. People of all religions join these celebrations, which is a visible
sign of harmony.
10.
Please share a specific short story about
your CC’s work that might teach a lesson about interfaith or inspire other CCs.
We had a friend named Bhasi, who
was very active in all activities of our group. Once we found him very gloomy
and came to know that he had cancer. This incident was very shocking for us. We
gave all support to him. Our CC gave Rs.5000 towards his treatment. We cannot
help him more because he is no longer alive. This prompted us to think of this
important disease, which is spreading fast. We have to undertake cancer
detection camps and support them, as early detection is crucial.
11.
How is your CC’s work helping to achieve the
mission of URI?
Our programs are specially
focused on youth to cultivate peace and justice in the society. URI PPP is at
the core of our basic philosophy.
12.
Within your CC, you have members from
several different faiths and cultural traditions. How would you describe
cooperation among your CC’s members? What are the challenges?
We
celebrate religious festivals by visiting various religious cultural centers.
This way we build a bridge among diverse religions. The cooperation is
excellent and we have no specific challenges to deal with as we have members
who have deep interfaith commitment.
13.
How is being part of URI helping your CC to
achieve its goals?
URI act
as a common platform for the people who belong to different religions to share
their various religious customs and traditions. Our CC is a visible expression
of solidarity and amity.
14.
Aside from funding, what are some specific
ways URI can better support your CC in reaching its goals?
URI can provide
us:
1.
Training in peace building
2.
Materials like CC toolkit and other study books.
3.
Empowerment of various weaker sections through
regular seminars.
4.
Seed grant for Tribal Empowerment and sustainable
development.
Prepared by
Leya Varghese and Team
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