Governor of Assam JB Patnaik on Wednesday said the Kandhamal communal violence that occurred in 2008 is a “dark episode” in the history of Odisha and it could have been avoided.
Inaugurating the grand plenary session on the second day of the three day Odisha Christian leadership Conference here, Patnaik emphasised that everybody should ensure that such incidents do not recur.
International Christian leaders like Dan Farell, Darren Wickham, Ide Trotter and Phil Roberts addressed the session.
They focused on the need for Christians to broad-base their relationships with the society and delve into the spiritual and value-based approaches of the Christian faith for developing stronger personal and social relationships which would go a long way in developing the society at large and enriching the vision of the Christian community across the world.
President and Founder of VisionWalk Ministries, United States of America larry Walker, Odisha Minority Forum president Dr Swarupananda Patra, Michael Fore from Texas Baptist Churches and Utkal Christian Church Central Council president Dr Satyananda Patra were present.
The conference would end on Thursday with a valediction ceremony and commissioning service with a pledge by all participating delegates for developing their personal spiritual lives and imparting love, affection and respect for all communities in a bid to build a stronger and a more compassionate society.