Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Karnataka organized a fortnight long religious harmony drive in Dakshina Kannada district under the title Souhardha Vahini Jatha. The campaign was concluded at ahuge public rally attended by thousands of men and women belonging to different religions.

The meeting was attended by leaders of all religions. Noted among them were Maulana Sirajul Hasan Former Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Rev. Fr. Fernandes of the Chair in Christianity, Mangalore University, Swamiji of Belikeri Math of Bangalore HH Shivarudra Swamiji, Mr. Abdullah Javed President JIH Karnataka and Goa and others.

Never before in Mangalore there was such unity shown between the three communities namely Hindu, Muslim and Christianity. Leaders of all the religious groups were on the dais at the public meeting at the Maidaan. And it was also for the first time perhaps that this large congregation of people raised slogans of friendship, brotherhood and camaraderie. It was a heartening thing to see that people belonging to different religious groups were serving water and jaggery to the people who had arrived at the venue of public meeting after a walk in the hot summer afternoon.

Making the first speech of the afternoon Mohammed Kunhi M.H. said the country was passing through a difficult phase and Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada were in no different situation. He said these were not the time to quarrel between ourselves but it was a time to consolidate our social values, brotherhood and solidarity. He said there were forces from outside the country that were waiting to usurp our wealth and if we lose ourselves in fights over religious matters our cause for economic freedom and social development will be defeated.

Rev. Fr. John Fernandes of the Chair in Christianity, Mangalore University stated that it was not important that who belongs to what community and religion; what was important at the present context was that there were divisive forces that were trying to create caste discrimination and communal discord between various communities.

Swamiji of Belikeri Math of Bangalore HH Shivarudra Swamiji in his observation said no holy scripture speaks anything bad about other religions but some people do misinterpret holy scriptures for their own gains. Some others committed mistakes in their own time in the past and the entire society was paying for those mistakes in the form of distrust between communities he added. His speech was dotted with quotes from all the three holy scriptures namely Vedas, Holy Bible and Holy Quran.