Bhopal: A Catholic priest’s contribution to building communal harmony, peace and social welfare in a communally sensitive state has found special mention in a recently released history book.
Majid Hussain, who authored “Bhopal the Great – History of Bhopal,” has lauded Father Anand Muttungal for fostering communal harmony and peace in Madhya Pradesh state “at critical times.”
Fr Muttungal is a priest of Bhopal archdiocese.
The priest, the author says, acted as a bridge between different religions and various Christian denominations in the state to maintain communal harmony and peace, especially during communal discords.
Fr Muttungal has worked “as a true messenger of peace” for the betterment of the society, Hussain said during the release of the book on November 23 at Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.
A galaxy of eminent personalities, including sitting and retired judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, attended the special function.
The Christian community, the author says, got a public identity in the state only after Fr Muttungal took over the reins as Regional Public Relation Officer and Spokesperson of Catholic Bishops’ Council of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
After almost a decade’s successful service as PRO he demitted the office in June 2012 following his transfer. Since then, he has been engaged in various other philanthropic works.
One of the other top contributions of the priest found mention the book is the formation of the Rashtriya Isai Mahasangh (RIM), an ecumenical forum bringing all Christian denominations in the state under one umbrella.
The RIM has now emerged as one of the strong voices of the Church in the country, taking up issues plaguing the Christian community at all levels and coordinating with political parties and various government agencies to find amicable solution to them.
“The main objective of its (RIM) formation was to empower Christians politically and socially to fight for their rights,” Fr Muttungal told mattersindia.com.
Barring Kerala in southern India and Goa on the west, Christians seldom get their dues in socio-political arena in India on account of their small numerical strength and lack of able leadership.
The divisions among different denominations, he adds, further weakened the Church in promoting Christian leadership and thus, Christians could not assert their constitutional rights properly.
The efforts of RIM, he said, have helped identify and promote able men and women to join political parties and other public sphere holding on to true Christian values.
According to him, his effort helped two Christians to get elected to the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly in the 2008 elections. However, they did not return to the House in the next election.
Now the RIM has spread its wing so far that it has branches in more than 12 states.
He also started a bilingual (Hindi and English) fortnightly news paper – First Edition – to create awareness among the community members about their rights and duties and also publicize issue plaguing them.
The paper, started in 2006 in Bhopal, is still carrying on with its mission against all odds, he notes.
The priest writes on various issues affecting the Church and Christian communities as a whole.
He has also written many books on communal harmony, ecumenical harmony, public relations and minority rights among others. He too has presented several papers on human psychology to issues on HIV/AIDS patients to his credit.
The priest is also one of the participants in the prestigious United States of America’s International Visitor leadership Programme in April 2010 in which only meritorious persons with outstanding contribution are invited.
The same year he was conferred the Vishwa Shanti Dham Mitri Samman (world peace religious amity honor), an international honor given by the Buddhist community for fostering communal harmony and peace.
Besides them, he was also honored with several other national and state level recognitions.