Guwahati: The Assam State Commission for Minorities on Saturday expressed pain and anguish over the desecration of the statue of St John Bosco, founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco congregation.
The commission convened an emergency meeting and condemned as “undemocratic and unsecular” the insult to Don Bosco, a saint revered by Christians all over the world and who pioneered modern education.
On Friday morning, a mob of more than 100 people threw the statue into a river in Guwahati, the commercial capital of Assam and nerve center of northeastern India. The statue was scheduled to be unveiled at a prominent public place in the city.
However, some groups opposed the move questioning the saint’s relevance to Assam.
The minority commission appealed to all sections to refrain from such acts of destructive misadventures that will harm and damage India’s secular society. It also decided to write to the chief secretary and Director General of Police asking them to submit a detail report on the whole incident.
Commission chairperson Abdul Muhib Mazumdar chaired the meeting that was attended by all its members, Mukti Devi Choudhury, Allen Brooks and secretary T. C. Goswami.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Salesian Society of Guwahati province organized a Musical Evening at Don Bosco School to mark the bicentenary birth anniversary of their founder.