Perhaps for the first time, mosques under the Kerala State Wakf Board and churches under Kerala Regional Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) across the state of Kerala hoisted the national flag and read out the Preamble of the Constitution on Sunday, which marked the country’s 71st Republic Day.
The unprecedented move, which was after the regular Sunday masses and prayers, was to register a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Population Register (NPR).
At the churches under KRLCC, a circular was also read out and an oath was also taken for the protection of the Constitution.
The churches and mosques observed Sunday as ‘Constitution Protection Day,’ as per the direction of the Kerala Regional Latin Catholic Council and that of the State Wakf Board. Wakf Board is a statutory body constituted by the government under which most of the mosques are registered.
National Flag being hoisted at Palayam Juma Masjid, Thiruvananthapuram
"There are 12 dioceses under KRLCC across the state and the number of churches varies under each diocese. The circular was read out against discrimination on the basis of religion. In some churches, Bishops read out the circular while in others, the vicars who led the Sunday masses read it out," KRLCC spokesperson Advocate Sherry Thomas told TNM.
The Wakf Board had issued a circular on January 17 to all mahal committees to unfurl the national flag and take a pledge for the protection of the Constitution. In the circular, it had also been directed other institutions registered under it to hoist the national flag and read out the Preamble.