Condolence Meetings Held For Gujarat Temple Attack
On hardly a few hours of notice, over 800 people met at a prayer meeting on Tuesday, September 24th at the local BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Clarkston, Georgia to offer condolences to those who died in the latest terrorist attack in Gujarat, India. The world watched in shock as the harrowing and tragic events unfolded at BAPS Swaminarayan?s Akshardham, a unique cultural complex dedicated to world peace and harmony.
On the ill-fated day of September 24th, 2002, this holy place of pilgrimage that represented the universal message of hope and peace to people all over the world was attacked by terrorists. What started at 4:50pm in the evening ended in an extremely terrifying and heinous carnage As the horrifying events unfurled, many national and international dignitaries, government officials, organizations, and media have reached out to express their deepest condolences for this tragedy.
Several national leaders, irrespective of their political alignments or differences, paid a visit to Akshardham Complex. Some of them were the Prime Minister of India Mr. Vajpayee, the Deputy PM Mr. Advani, Governor of Gujarat Mr. Sundersinh Bhandari, Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Narendra Modi, and Congress Party Leader Sonia Gandhi. Akshardham carnage is a yet another international tragedy where the terrorists have taken lives of innocent men, women, and children in a senseless act of violence. Their act of cowardice is even more acutely felt since it was perpetrated in the midst of the very place that serves as an inspiring source of peace, harmony, and tolerance.
H.D.H. Pramukh Swami Maharaj has offered his deepest sympathy and prayers for the unfortunate victims and their grieving relatives. His ardent wish was that such tragedies never afflict any community or nation anywhere in the world. Finally, he has appealed to the citizens of India to maintain peace and harmony in the wake of this national tragedy.
At the local condolence meeting at the Atlanta temple, among many dignitaries was Clarkston Mayor Lee Swaney. Representatives from other Indian organization in Atlanta were present to offer their condolences and condemn the spineless attack on innocent people.
Similar meetings were also held at Guajarti Samaj?s Sardar Bhavan Hall and at the Shakti Mandir temple.
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