Visitors to parishes in the city and beyond are being given copies of the Preamble to the Constitution in Hindi, Bengali and English to “uphold” the Constitution and the values enshrined in it.

The copies are being distributed by an arm of the archdiocese of Calcutta, the Small Christian Communities, to spread awareness and educate people about the Preamble.

“The Preamble talks about the values of equality, liberty and fraternity. It is important to talk about brotherhood now and spread these important values among people, especially at the grassroots level, and dispel fears that many of them might have,” said Father Dominic Gomes, the director of the Small Christian Communities and the chancellor and vicar-general of the archdiocese of Calcutta.

Father Dominic Gomes has sent copies of the Preamble through email to the parish priests and priests in-charge. “In some places, we will send hard copies and in some remote areas we have sent emails. The priests will print the Preamble and distribute copies,” Father Gomes said.

Archbishop Thomas D’ Souza gave a call on Thursday to read out the Preamble after Sunday service on Republic Day.

“The Preamble to the Constitution will be read in the Church (read by one and repeated by the entire Congregation) after every Holy Mass or outside the Church after the flag hoisting…” the archbishop’s letter says.

“The Preamble to the Constitution will be read out to uphold and safeguard the Constitution. I think under the present situation, understanding, upholding and being aware of the Constitution is more important than ever. The reading of the Preamble will be after the Sunday mass,” Archbishop D’ Souza had told Metro on Thursday.

While the Preamble will be read out this Sunday, the Small Christian Communities’ initiative will be a continual process of trying to spread awareness among people.

A priest said there was fear in the minds of people and they needed to be reassured.

“Under the present circumstances it is important to tell people to live and be together. We have to tell people about the richest values in the Preamble,” said Father Medard Tirkey, priest in-charge of St Michael’s Catholic in Belepole, Howrah.

Tirkey said most people in that area are migrants from Jharkhand. “Most of them are daily wage labourers and do not have local documents. They have voter I cards but not land ownership documents,” said.