THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when the SNDP Yogam is experimenting with social engineering by mooting the ‘Nayadi-to-Nasrani’ formulation, by excluding Muslims, the Sivagiri Mutt has emerged as a unifying force in the state’s social sphere.
The all-religion conference organised recently by the mutt at the Vatican has emerged as a platform for bringing together heads of the Christian and Muslim minorities in the state, especially against the backdrop of the confrontational path that the two communities have taken in the wake of the Munambam waqf land issue.
The conference was organised in association with the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue – a department of the Roman Catholic Church – to commemorate the first All Religion Conference organised by Sree Narayana Guru in Aluva a hundred years ago.
Sivagiri Mutt was led by its head Swami Sachidananda and three other key figures. However, it was the diversity of participants – Muslim League state president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, Syro-Malabar Church Archbishop Raphael Thattil, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Major Archbishop Baselios Cleemis, Fr David Chiramel, Karnataka speaker U T Khader and other prominent individuals from the Sikh and Buddhist religions – that caught the attention.
The mutt also organised Sadiq Ali Thangal’s meeting with Pope Francis. He is the first member from the Panakkad family to visit the Vatican and meet the Pope. “We deputed three persons including Swami Neeleswaranda and Chandy Oommen MLA to present the matter before the Vatican,” Swami Sachidananda said. “We wanted Sadiq Ali Thangal in the delegation and he readily accepted our invitation. We invited him not as Muslim League leader but as a representative of the Panakkad family,” he told TNIE.
Asserting that the inter-religious meeting has had a positive impact on the social fabric of the state, Swami Sachidanada said. “Everyone should end divisive actions in the name of religion. The visit has helped cement inter-religious harmony in the state,” he said. Thangal’s meeting with the Pope is seen as healing the wounds generated by the Munambam issue. “I stressed India’s diversity and how people from different religions live in harmony. The Pope said he also respects the diversity of India,” Thangal said.
According to the League leadership, the visit succeeded in sending a message that would help alter preconceived notions about Islam and its leaders. “There is a belief that Muslim religious leaders are orthodox and don’t accept other religions. However, the visit showed that no such ego exists,” a Muslim religious leader said on condition of anonymity.
The mutt’s effort has come as a setback to SNDP chief Vellappally Natesan’s efforts at projecting the ‘Nayadi-to-Nasrani’ social formulation. “The mutt has regained its identity after a long time,” a former SNDP office-bearer said. “There was a vacuum of a force in society which could unify all communities. That should have to come from the majority community as certain forces are trying to raise claims in the name of the former,” he said.
Diverse participants
Sivagiri Mutt was led by its head Swami Sachidananda and three other key figures. However, it was the diversity of participants – Muslim League state prez Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, Syro-Malabar Church Archbishop Raphael Thattil, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Major Archbishop Baselios Cleemis, Fr David Chiramel, Karnataka speaker U T Khader and other prominent individuals from the Sikh and Buddhist religions – that caught the attention. The mutt also organised Sadiq Ali Thangal’s meeting with Pope Francis. He is the first member from the Panakkad family to visit the Vatican and meet the Pope