Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said a country like India, which has so many states and languages, cannot follow the doctrine of “ek mat, ek path (one faith, one path)”.

Rather, the principle India should follow is “jato mat, tato path (as many faiths, so many paths)”, Mamata said at a pre-Christmas gathering at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) on Thursday evening.

“There are so many states and languages in our country. If someone says ektai mat, ektai path (one faith, one path), that cannot be accepted. What was propagated by Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Jesus Christ was also propagated by Rabindra Nath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda: Jato Mat, Tato Path (as many faiths, so many paths). Nothing should be imposed by force,” Mamata said.

The chief minister said Christmas means “unity in diversity, secularism and love for all”.

“I can say only one word from the core of my heart. I feel that Christmas means humanity, peace, love, affection, a lesson, unity in diversity. It means secularism, it means we love all. This world became a sweet world because of these lessons,” Mamata said to applause from the audience, made up of students, present and past, and others.

The chief minister said she felt that St Xavier’s College was her second home and lauded the Jesuit institution for its role in the field of education and for reaching out to the poor and the downtrodden.

She said the government has started organising Christmas festivals across Bengal.

“We do it because we believe in this idea — religious beliefs are personal but festivals are for all (Dharma jar jar, utsab sabar). This Christmas festival is for all,” Mamata said.

Before Mamata addressed the crowd, Father Dominic Savio, the principal of St Xavier’s College, lauded the chief minister for working towards upholding secularism and unity in diversity.

“She has been working for the welfare of the poor, downtrodden, marginalised and the tribals. She has shown us how to respect each community and faith. She is working tirelessly for unity and peace, communal harmony, and religious tolerance and secularism among all,” the principal said.

Father Felix Raj, the vice-chancellor of St Xavier’s University, said the minorities in the country are in danger.

“Yesterday (December 18) was the Minorities Rights Day in our country. Minorities today are in danger. The protection of minorities is a pre-requisite of any democracy. Our state is an example of communal harmony and peace. Though in many parts of the country, there are incidents of violence of faith and incidents of murder. So many things have happened. But our state has seen communal harmony and diversity,” said Father Felix Raj.

“I hope this spirit of communal harmony and diversity continues in Bengal and the rest of the country.”

The chief minister said: “What Father Felix Raj said, what Father Dominic Savio said, it is our duty to maintain unity in diversity. Without peace, no one can survive. I will urge the students present here to spread this message of unity in diversity and harmony. We maintain unity in diversity in the truest sense of the
term.”

Short Street

The chief minister announced at the programme that her government has decided to rename Short Street as St Francis Xavier Sarani.

St Francis Xavier is credited with spreading Jesuit education in India.

One of the first things he did after reaching India in 1542 was open a Jesuit college in Goa.